1967 Topps Rod Carew ROOKIE #569 PSA 9 MINT

By trade, Herb Stein investigated matters for the New York City transit system, but even while off-duty, the detective kept his nose to the grindstone. Stein doubled as a scout for the Minnesota Twins and recommended the Twins offer a young 18-year-old a tryout when they came to Yankee Stadium in May 1964. When Rod Carew walked onto the field, his 6-foot, 185-pound frame did not immediately impress anyone, but as he sprayed hit after hit across the outfield grass, Twins manager Sam Mele quickly ground the tryout to a halt. “Get the kid out of here,” he said, “before somebody sees him.” Mele’s prospect remained a secret, and within a month, Carew signed his name to a contract. Three years later, he ripped a single in his first major-league at-bat, a modest start to an illustrious 19-year hitting display that ended with the fourth-highest batting average of the past 50 years (.328). Carew gobbled up seven batting titles, including six in the seven seasons between 1972 and ’78. Collectively, he hit .350 in that stretch and had 234 more hits than any other big-league player. His .388 average in 1977 marked the highest the majors had seen since Ted Williams recorded the same tally 20 years earlier. In conjunction with Carew’s Rookie of the Year campaign, he made his cardboard debut in 1967 Topps Baseball, landing next to Washington’s Hank Allen on an “American League Rookie Stars” issue. On the flip side of the high-number offering, Topps praises Carew’s early-season progress in the batting race. By the end of May, Carew stood fifth in the race at .320, and he finished sixth with a .292 clip. It was one of only four years in which he did not hit over .300. This card represents one of the very best copies of Carew's 1967 Topps rookie card. Of the more than 4,450 times PSA has assessed the card, just 64 have received a Mint 9 grade without any qualifiers. Only one copy ranks higher. The certification number on this card has been checked against the third-party grader's online database and is active as of 03/02/2026.

This item was flash inserted on Feb 28, 2026.