On the news that the Cubs signed former Michigan pitcher Zach Putnam to a minor league deal (after claiming him in November and non-tendering him), I decided it was time to show off the rest of my COMC pickups of one of Ann Arbor's most athletic players ever. Here's 15 more cards for his player collection!:
Zach Putnam 2008 Donruss Elite Extra Edition Aspirations (#096/150)
Zach Putnam 2008 Donruss Elite Extra Edition School Colors auto (#18/25)
Zach Putnam 2008 Donruss Elite Extra Edition School Colors (#1024/1500)
Zach Putnam 2008 Donruss Elite Extra Edition Signature Turn of the Century auto (#31/50)
Zach Putnam 2008 Donruss Elite Extra Edition Status (#32/75)
Here's five more from the 2008 EEE set, giving me seven of the 11 non-1/1s. I still think the 2010 version's design is the best Panini has put out so far, but these aren't bad. The only one I don't really care for is the Status because of the way the red fades into an ugly pink in the middle of the card. The School Colors insert and autograph were fun ideas, and of course I love the fact that every card pictures him in a Michigan uniform. I'm left needing two cards #d /25, a /10, and a /5. Those will take a while, but I'll get there!
Here's five more from the 2008 EEE set, giving me seven of the 11 non-1/1s. I still think the 2010 version's design is the best Panini has put out so far, but these aren't bad. The only one I don't really care for is the Status because of the way the red fades into an ugly pink in the middle of the card. The School Colors insert and autograph were fun ideas, and of course I love the fact that every card pictures him in a Michigan uniform. I'm left needing two cards #d /25, a /10, and a /5. Those will take a while, but I'll get there!
Zach Putnam 2008 Playoff Contenders auto
Zach Putnam 2008 Playoff Contenders Draft Class (with Haley) (#0873/1500)
Zach Putnam 2008 Playoff Contenders Draft Class Black (with Haley) (#022/100)
Zach Putnam 2008 Playoff Contenders Draft Class Gold (with Haley) (#250/250)
Zach Putnam 2008 Playoff Contenders Playoff Ticket (#133/199)
This group represents five of Putnam's six releases in that year's Playoff set, which is cool since before this order I didn't have anything from '08 Playoff. I'm not so sure that I was missing out on very much since, in typical Panini fashion, the non-autographed versions have a lot of dead space. I wish these were more like the football Rookie Ticket cards, but it's no big deal--these still add five to his PC. The only card I still need is the dual autograph version of the Putnam/Haley, #d /25. Haley, by the way, was Cleveland's second-round pick in 2008, the same year they chose Putnam in the 5th (along with two other Wolverines later!). He's still toiling in the Cleveland system while Putnam has at least earned some time in the bullpen for a few teams now.
This group represents five of Putnam's six releases in that year's Playoff set, which is cool since before this order I didn't have anything from '08 Playoff. I'm not so sure that I was missing out on very much since, in typical Panini fashion, the non-autographed versions have a lot of dead space. I wish these were more like the football Rookie Ticket cards, but it's no big deal--these still add five to his PC. The only card I still need is the dual autograph version of the Putnam/Haley, #d /25. Haley, by the way, was Cleveland's second-round pick in 2008, the same year they chose Putnam in the 5th (along with two other Wolverines later!). He's still toiling in the Cleveland system while Putnam has at least earned some time in the bullpen for a few teams now.
Zach Putnam 2008 Razor Signature Series Black (#123/200)
Zach Putnam 2008 Razor Signature Series Blue(#10/25)
Zach Putnam 2008 Razor Signature Series
I already had three of Putnam's autographs from this Razor set, and now I have his base card and two of the inserts as well. That leaves me needing an unnumbered Silver parallel and a Double Black auto #d /5, which might prove slightly difficult, but you never know. Please contain your surprise as I reveal that my favorite of the trio is the Blue parallel, which looks great, and also happens to be the rarest of the group.
I already had three of Putnam's autographs from this Razor set, and now I have his base card and two of the inserts as well. That leaves me needing an unnumbered Silver parallel and a Double Black auto #d /5, which might prove slightly difficult, but you never know. Please contain your surprise as I reveal that my favorite of the trio is the Blue parallel, which looks great, and also happens to be the rarest of the group.
Zach Putnam 2009 Bowman Chrome Prospects Blue Refractors auto (#147/150)
Here's another card to add to a fun rainbow I've been slowly piecing together. Zach has seven different versions of this autograph, and I now have five of them, including the base, Refractor, X-Fractor, and Gold, meaning I just need the Orange /25 and Red /5 (yeah, "just," right...). So far, the Gold has been my favorite version, and this Blue is a close second since it's too light of a blue and could stand to be darker like some of the really nice colored Refractors in other sets. But that's a nit a Wolverine collector would pick, and this card really does look fantastic.
Here's another card to add to a fun rainbow I've been slowly piecing together. Zach has seven different versions of this autograph, and I now have five of them, including the base, Refractor, X-Fractor, and Gold, meaning I just need the Orange /25 and Red /5 (yeah, "just," right...). So far, the Gold has been my favorite version, and this Blue is a close second since it's too light of a blue and could stand to be darker like some of the really nice colored Refractors in other sets. But that's a nit a Wolverine collector would pick, and this card really does look fantastic.
Zach Putnam 2010 Upper Deck World of Sports auto
Finally, there's this Upper Deck oddball card of sorts. The 2010 World of Sports release included a number of sports besides the four most popular in the US, meaning I've never heard of a large chunk of the athletes on the checklist. Fortunately, Putnam somehow made it into the 300-card checklist with both a base card and autographed version. I still need the base, but it's not terribly difficult to find, and I'll get it eventually. This is a fun card to own thanks to a very nice full-bleed photo of Zach pitching for Michigan in Ann Arbor.
Finally, there's this Upper Deck oddball card of sorts. The 2010 World of Sports release included a number of sports besides the four most popular in the US, meaning I've never heard of a large chunk of the athletes on the checklist. Fortunately, Putnam somehow made it into the 300-card checklist with both a base card and autographed version. I still need the base, but it's not terribly difficult to find, and I'll get it eventually. This is a fun card to own thanks to a very nice full-bleed photo of Zach pitching for Michigan in Ann Arbor.
Those 15 jump Zach's PC total up to 34 out of his non-1/1 total of 52. The major sticking point will be those lower-numbered cards, as usual--especially his 2008 Razor Letterman letters #d /5. I've actually had better luck with the 1/1s! I'm very encouraged with where I'm at in his collection, though.
In terms of the overall PC I'm up to 27 hits of Putnam, who's playing second fiddle to Rich Hill's current 61, but is the only other baseball player in that collection above 20 hits. Hopefully that collection grows with the rest of my baseball pursuits!
Come back tomorrow (or whenever I post next) for what will likely be another football post.
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