1979 Topps #651 Mike Caldwell
About Mike Caldwell
Caldwell's 1979 Topps card is #651. American League hitters suspected his sinker was a spitball, and George Steinbrenner promised cameras at Yankee Stadium. Caldwell opened 1979 by beating the Yankees 5-1 and finished 16-6 with a 3.29 ERA. He completed 16 of his 30 starts.
Mike Caldwell was a left-handed sinkerballer who pitched 14 big-league seasons for the Padres, Giants, Reds and Brewers. He came out of Tarboro, North Carolina, and North Carolina State, where he went 32-10 and was named ACC Player of the Year in 1971. San Diego took him in the 12th round of the 1971 draft and he reached the majors that September. After his years with the Giants and a run of trades, he landed in Milwaukee. In 1978 he went 22-9 with a 2.36 ERA and 23 complete games, finished second to Ron Guidry for the Cy Young Award and was named American League Comeback Player of the Year. He reached double figures in wins six straight years for the Brewers and won two games in the 1982 World Series against St. Louis, the first a complete-game shutout. He finished 137-130 with a 3.81 ERA. Daniel Okrent's Nine Innings says his unshaven face and total absence of a smile earned him the nickname Mr. Warmth.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 56 | 6 | 28 | 17 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| SGC | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 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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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1979 Topps #651 card?
It is card #651 of the 726-card 1979 Topps Baseball set, picturing Mike Caldwell of the Milwaukee Brewers.
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.