1979 Topps #552 Jose Morales
About Jose Morales
Morales batted .267 in 1979 with 2 home runs and 27 RBI over 92 games for Minnesota. That year a letter reached him from a brother, Larry, living in St. Paul. His #552 card in the 1979 Topps set pictures him with the Twins.
Jose Morales was a right-handed pinch-hitter and designated hitter who played 12 major league seasons from 1973 to 1984 with the Athletics, Expos, Twins, Orioles and Dodgers. Born in Frederiksted, St. Croix, he signed with the San Francisco Giants in 1963 and spent ten summers in the minors, where he led four leagues in errors as a catcher. Oakland called him up in August 1973 and sold him to Montreal that September. He appeared in the field in 104 of his 733 games, and first base was his most frequent position. He led his league in pinch hits four times and set a single-season record of 25 in 1976, a mark that stood until John Vander Wal collected 28 in 1995. He hit .287 for his career with 26 home runs and 207 RBI. His only postseason appearance came in the 1983 NLCS with the Dodgers. He also played more than two decades of Puerto Rican winter ball and later worked as a batting instructor for several organizations.
Sources: SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 45 | 13 | 26 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| SGC | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Data as of 2026-10-19. Half grades fold down for both graders (8.5→8); PSA qualified slabs (OC, ST, PD, MC and the like) are not counted.
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Related cards
Team card: #41 Minnesota Twins / Gene Mauch
More Minnesota Twins cards:
- #1 1978 Batting Leaders
- #27 Dave Goltz
- #58 Bob Randall
- #81 Roger Erickson
- #113 Pete Redfern
- #137 Larry Wolfe
- #162 Tom Johnson
- #193 Glenn Adams
- #219 Roy Smalley
- #246 Darrell Jackson
- #249 Paul Thormodsgard
- #274 Willie Norwood
- #300 Rod Carew
- #362 Mike Cubbage
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1979 Topps #552 card?
It is card #552 of the 726-card 1979 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jose Morales of the Minnesota Twins.
How many cards are in the 1979 Topps Baseball set?
726 cards, numbered 1 through 726 with none skipped and issued as a single series, tracked as 727 collectible states: #369 Bump Wills comes with a Rangers or a Blue Jays team banner, and the master set counts both.
Sources: Trading Card Database, PSA, BaseballCardPedia, Cardboard Connection, Baseball Almanac, Baseball-Reference, the SABR BioProject and the National Baseball Hall of Fame, PSA & SGC population reports. Card data compiled and maintained by T206Cards.com. Page last updated 2026-10-25.