I'm back today with another double-digit group of J.J. Putz additions:
J.J. Putz 2006 Topps Update Gold (with Ichiro) (#0199/2006)
Definitely a nice pair of Mariners there. 2006 was one of an amazing seven seasons Ichiro led the league in hits, and that year coincided with J.J.'s first as Seattle's closer, which obviously turned out very well.
J.J. Putz 2007 Topps Co-Signers Hyper Silver Red (with Felix) (#23/75)
J.J. Putz 2007 Topps Co-Signers Silver Blue (with Felix) (#021/150)
This pair is fairly interesting because Felix is the obvious headliner, but the combination with Putz makes a lot of sense since you're pairing up the team's best starter and reliever. There's a ridiculous 12 versions of this card I'll ultimately need to chase!
J.J. Putz 2007 Topps Gold (#0160/2007)
I like how the colored boxes in this card pair up better with Arizona than Seattle, considering the D-Backs are J.J.'s most recent team. Not that Topps could have known that in 2007--you can barely count on them to get a player's CURRENT team right!
J.J. Putz 2008 Topps Gold Border (with Borowski and Jenks) (#1419/2008)
Raise your hand if you were on this card and are still pitching in the majors. That's right, it's just Putz! Borowski followed up his 45 2007 saves with a shortened 2008 before retiring. Jenks, an angry fatass, last pitched with the Red Sox in 2011, with zero saves to show for his efforts. He's probably still an angry fatass, though.
J.J. Putz 2008 Topps Triple Threads Sepia (#406/525)
J.J. Putz 2008 Topps Triple Threads (#0791/1350)
Out of all the cards today, the second Triple Threads above is the only "base" card. It looks pretty reasonable, which is more than I can say for the one above it--is "sepia" Topps-ese for "shit brown?"
J.J. Putz 2009 Topps Gold Border (#1592/2009)
J.J. Putz 2010 Topps Update Gold (#0281/2010)
A couple more Topps Golds, and what's cool is each of these features one more stop before Putz ended up in Arizona. He was traded to the Mets before the 2009 season and was ineffective due to injury. He signed a FA deal with the White Sox to reestablish his value before 2010 but wasn't used as a closer, which means the Diamondbacks got a nice deal when they signed him before 2011. He's repaid them with 77 saves the last two seasons.
J.J. Putz 2011 Topps Cognac Diamond Anniversary
J.J. Putz 2011 Topps Factory Set Holiday (#55/75)
J.J. Putz 2011 Topps Factory Set Red Border (#095/245)
J.J. Putz 2011 Topps Gold (#1878/2011)
Here's four versions of J.J.'s 2011 Topps cards. I currently have five, with another three on the way, and after that I'll be left needing three more. Parallelarrhea! Also, I fully realize the Red Border card looks fairly orange, but I think we all know how easily that happens with scans.
J.J. Putz 2012 Topps Gold Sparkle
J.J. Putz 2012 Topps Gold (#1536/2012)
J.J. Putz 2012 Topps Opening Day Superstar Celebrations
And we'll finish up today with three versions of a card with one of the goofier photos in the 2012 set. The Opening Day card actually gives you a slightly different view, which is cool. The event in question is Putz earning the save on September 23, 2011. It was his 44th, which was a nice personal accomplishment, but more importantly, it clinched the NL West for Arizona. That's definitely a moment worth capturing on cardboard, and I'm glad Topps did.
Today's 16 give Putz an IHAS count of 44, including three 1/1s. I have one more group of his pickups that I'll get to soon, then you'll see even more of him when I get my latest package shipped, so stay tuned!
No comments:
Post a Comment