Manufacturer: Topps
Set: 1976 Topps Baseball ➡️
Player Name: Rick Waits
Position/Team: Pitcher for Indians
Card #: 433
Card Size: 2-1/2” x 3-1/2”
Card Values: See Pricing Table Below
Rick Waits was a gritty, dependable left-handed starting pitcher who carved out a 12-year Major League career (1973, 1975–1985). While he pitched briefly for the Washington Senators/Texas Rangers franchise and finished up with the Milwaukee Brewers, Waits is best remembered as a workhorse anchor for the Cleveland Indians rotation during the late 1970s and early ’80s.
After being drafted by the Boston Red Sox in 1970 and traded to Texas, Waits eventually found a permanent home in Cleveland in 1975. Armed with a solid breaking ball and excellent movement, the southpaw became a model of durability for a franchise searching for stability.
Waits put together his finest individual campaign in 1978. He took the ball for 35 starts, tossing 14 complete games and racking up a career-high 13 wins over 223.1 innings pitched with a strong 3.22 ERA.
Waits is etched into baseball trivia lore for his final game of the 1978 season. On October 1, he pitched a brilliant, complete-game 4-rebound victory against the New York Yankees, holding them to just one run. The clutch performance forced the legendary one-game AL East tie-breaker playoff between the Yankees and the Boston Red Sox.
He wrapped up his career in 1985 after a multi-year stint in the Milwaukee Brewers bullpen, finishing his big-league journey with 79 wins and 58 complete games.
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Pricing Data For This Rookie Card
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Did You Know? Waits possessed a remarkably gifted singing voice. On multiple occasions throughout his playing career, he actually stepped up to the microphone in full uniform and sang the National Anthem before his own games to wild applause from the crowd.
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