Manufacturer: Topps
Set: 1971 Topps Baseball ➡️
Player Name: Bob Grich
Position/Team: Shortstop for Orioles
Card #: 193
Card Size: 2-1/2” x 3-1/2”
Card Values: See Pricing Table Below
Drafted 19th overall by the Baltimore Orioles in 1967, Grich broke into a loaded Orioles team that was routinely winning the American League East. Originally a shortstop, he shifted permanently to second base in 1972 and completely revolutionized the defensive expectations of the position.
- The Gold Standard: Alongside legendary shortstop Mark Belanger, Grich anchored the best defensive middle infield of the 1970s. He won four consecutive Gold Glove Awards from 1973 to 1976.
- The Record Books: In 1973, Grich set an all-time major league record for second basemen with a blistering .995 fielding percentage. Proving it wasn’t a fluke, he broke his own record 12 seasons later with the Angels, raising the mark to .997.
Following the 1976 season, Grich became one of the high-profile pioneers of modern baseball free agency. He turned down a massive offer from the New York Yankees to sign a $1.5 million deal with the California Angels so he could play closer to his Southern California roots.
Traditional Hall of Fame voters initially passed on Grich because his career batting average sat at .266 and he fell short of 2,000 hits. However, analytics have drastically shifted his legacy. His 71.1 WAR places him above enshrined Hall of Fame second basemen like Jackie Robinson, Ryne Sandberg, and Roberto Alomar. Grich excelled at everything that modern front offices value: he drew walks at an elite clip, hit for exceptional isolated power for a middle infielder, and possessed generational defensive range. He is already a member of both the Angels and Orioles Halls of Fame.
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Pricing Data For This Rookie Card
➡️ See All 1971 Topps Rookie Card Prices
Pricing chart includes raw card price & some graded card value estimates.
These values are collated from a variety of resources including recently sold listings, sales averages and a variety of other sports card pricing data sources. Please see full disclaimer on “Terms Page” for more information. (Rookiecardprices.com only shows values for regular base set cards. No prices are shown for errors, parallels, subsets, misprints or other cards unless noted.)
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