2013 COMC pickups #6: Too many Putzs part 2

So went I went to scan cards for this post, it had been a while since I'd done a COMC showoff post, and I'd forgotten that the last one I did was actually part one of my fat stack of J.J. Putz pickups.  Oh well, I've got a bunch to get through still, so there's no time like the present!

Today seemed like a Topps kind of day, so here's 20 (mostly) flagship issues of Double-J:

J.J. Putz 2006 Topps Update #320 (with Ichiro)

Well, we're not exactly starting off with a bang, but here's the base version of a card whose Gold parallel I already had.  2006 was J.J.'s first real shot as a full-time closer and it obviously paid off for the Mariners.  His 36 saves that season account for his third-highest season total.

J.J. Putz 2007 Topps Red Back

J.J. Putz 2007 Topps Update 1st Edition

J.J. Putz 2007 Topps Update Gold (#0307/2007)

J.J. Putz 2007 Topps Update Red Back

J.J. Putz 2007 Topps Wal-Mart

Now here's a mix of useless and great.  As I'm sure I've said on this blog before, the Red Back insert is terrible; why the hell do I want an insert where the only difference is different colored lettering on the back, which I'm not even looking at most of the time?  Similarly, the "1st Edition" set is simply stupid, with a lame stamp differentiating it from the other versions.  Topps has continued this practice for years, so it obviously either thinks that collectors like those, or they think we're idiots that buy their crap no matter what.

Fortunately, there's a couple cards here that redeem the bad ones.  One is the Gold parallel, which I'm always happy with.  It's a tried and true, useful parallel--just a little scarcity (even if the numbering goes up by one each year!) combined with nice looks.  the Wal-Mart card is also a breath of fresh air compared to the lame exclusive color parallels Topps crams down our throats these days.  Based on the 1955 Topps design, these look great, so this one is a very welcome addition to my Putz PC.

J.J. Putz 2008 Topps Black #485 (#25/57)

J.J. Putz 2008 Topps Gold Border #485 (#0615/2008)

J.J. Putz 2008 Topps Gold Foil #485

And now we have a trio of 2008 issues.  The Gold Foil is lame as usual, but the one-two punch of the Gold and Black is outstanding.  As usual with Topps, there's way too much border here, but I'm still a fan of the '08 set for some reason, and that year's Black parallels came out especially nicely.  Also, I think the only Putz I still need from '08 flagship is the Black version of the Putz/Borowski/Jenks, which I'm sure I'll track down eventually.

J.J. Putz 2009 Topps Target

J.J. Putz 2010 Topps Update Target

J.J. Putz 2010 Topps Update Wal Mart Black Border

I'm lumping these three together mainly for the Target connection.  While I still generally dislike the idea of retail parallels, I do like the execution of the Target cards from these sets since you get a card back the way it's supposed to look, with that cardboard feel that manufacturers are now allergic to for some reason.  If anything these would make for a cool non-exclusive parallel.  Meanwhile, the Wal-Mart card is completely superfluous thanks to Topps' own Black parallel, but really, what did you expect from Wal-Mart?  Speaking of the Blacks, that's the last of Putz's 2010 Update cards I need!

J.J. Putz 2011 Topps

J.J. Putz 2011 Topps Wal Mart Black Border

J.J. Putz 2011 Topps Diamond Anniversary Factory Set Limited Edition

I still needed J.J.'s base card because I stopped chasing Topps' sets after 2010 Update.  It's a nice enough looking card, I'll give it that.  The Wal-Mart parallel is a lame rehash of the previous year's card.  Meanwhile, the Factory Set card is essentially another cash-grab, but it's one I chose to pursue as a player collector anyway, and it's not as bad as some of those limited cards can get.  So from 2011 I need Putz's Black, Hope Diamond, and Target cards.  If I can also add in his Diamondbacks Topps version, I'll have his entire 12-card 2011 run!

J.J. Putz 2012 Topps Mini Gold (#37/61)

J.J. Putz 2012 Topps Wal Mart Blue Border

J.J. Putz 2012 Topps

The 2012s are fun to collect because of the goofy-but-awesome photo Topps chose.  The Gold Mini is my favorite here, and oddly enough I still need the base card, but I do have three of his four plates!  The Wal-Mart card is lame as usual, but at least it's a different color.  I'm perfectly happy with the base card, though.

J.J. Putz 2013 Topps Toys R Us Purple Border

J.J. Putz 2013 Topps Wal-Mart Blue Border

We close out today's additions with ANOTHER pair of retail exclusives!  Wal-Mart returns with the blue wihile Toys R Us dips its toes into the pool with a purple card that probably only works with the Diamondbacks' colors.  I might be able to nab most of the rest of his 2013s pretty soon.

Today's haul gives J.J. a very milestone-worthy IHAS count of 110!  A related barrier that breaks is the one-third mark, which can be a bit of a moving target for a player that still shows up in sets, but I'm betting I'll be able to stay ahead of the curve now, especially with plenty left to scan.

Stay tuned for lots more COMC stuff as I try to get my ass in gear and actually post it (especially since I received ANOTHER package, a small one, from them yesterday).  Also, I'm due for a large eBay catch-up post as soon as I receive a few other items!

2013 eBay purchase #18 and Blowout purchase #2: catching some TZs

My last two March 2013 purchases arrived today, which coincides nicely with MLB's main opening day.  One of the cards--the eBay pickup--I actually bought on the 21st, the same day as the Hill/Fuld booklet from last week, but it just now got here because the seller took WAAAAY too long to ship it.  The card from Blowout arrived much quicker.

I managed to snag this pair for under $10, which is good considering how much I'd already thrown down during the month, especially on COMC.  Sticking to a budget's been great so far, though--I don't feel like I've missed out on anything because of my self-imposed limits, and I'm also making collecting more fun and challenging by avoiding just throwing money at cards I need for my PCs.

Here's what I picked up:

J.J. Putz 2013 Topps Silver Slate

This one came to me from a Blowout seller for a pretty reasonable $3 dlvd.  Lots of Blowout members busted their Topps Silver Slate redemption packs hoping for big hits, and a few did pretty well, but I was more interested in the ones that pulled either of Putz's versions.  Though the "regular" cards aren't serial-numbered, I suspect that they're somewhat rare, and anyway I didn't mind paying a mere $3 to someone else for dealing with the wrapper redemption and shipping.  It's a pretty nice looking parallel, too, and I hope to be able to show off a sweet rainbow when everything is said and done--that is, if Topps ever stops producing 2013 parallels!  This is Putz IHAS card #63 (including three 1/1s), by the way.

Chris Getz 2012 Topps Mini Silver (#4/5)

Speaking of cards I'm glad someone else pulled, here's a fairly rare Getz that's my lowest numbered card in his PC to date.  Since every player in the set was the subject of one of these tough parallels, it's not exactly like it was very easy to pull a specific player.  The eBay seller originally though so too, I guess, because he listed it with a starting price that was way too high for anyone with a brain.  When he finally gave up on that lunacy, he listed it starting at $0.99 (with free shipping) and my $6.49 bid had me laughing all the way to the bank (which, incidentally, is a weird thing to call my mailbox).  It's funny to have the rarest parallel before I have the base card, and yet here we are.  This makes exactly 25 IHAS cards for Mr. Getz, with more to come soon from COMC.

Speaking of my favorite site for acquiring cards, since my second 2013 package has arrived I'll start showing that stuff off very soon, so stay tuned!

A wonderful "GO BLUE" from J.J. and UncleMoe too!

If you've been following Larry's/UncleMoe's posts over on My 2008 Topps Set Blog recently, you know he's been picking up a very nice number of IP autographs from spring training and other events.  Since he was piling up the D-Backs, I jokingly told him if he saw J.J. Putz he should tell him that I said "GO BLUE!"

Today I received a random envelope from a familiar name--"Hatfield"--and since I'm not a McCoy, I ripped it open and saw the following:

Wait, what's going on?  Oh, there's a card in here too...

DUDE!  SWEET!

Wow is this an exciting auto to have in my PC!  I seriously owe Larry bigtime for being generous enough to get this auto, not to mention the killer inscription, and then send it my way.  I'm not sure how I'll be able to pay you back, but if you ever think of something, just name it!  Anyway, rest assured I'll treasure this card forever, and show it off a ton while I'm at it.

This isn't nearly as big of a news item, but it seems like a reasonable time to mention that I picked up another Putz recently thanks to a generous Blowout member.  He was due to receive a prize from Topps but they accidentally sent him a 2013 hobby box instead.  While they eventually sent him the correct item, they were actually cool enough to let him keep the box, so he awarded free (plus $3 shipping) teams to random members who claimed them.  I asked for the D-Backs hoping to grab one or more of J.J.'s cards from the set, plus I knew I could easily give away the rest to Arizona fans, like UncleMoe, oddly enough.

All he pulled of the Diamondbacks was base cards, but I didn't really care because I got the one I really wanted:

Now I have the base card to go along with the Black I purchased on eBay recently.  Just four more versions to go (for now)!

2013 eBay purchase #7: Putzing around with 2013 Topps

As I was on eBay a few days ago flipping through my saved searches of my Michigan PC players, I made sure to get an idea of the market for the cards of the only Wolverine player I collect to appear in 2013 products so far:  J.J. Putz.  As usual, there's a few parallels to collect, and I thought I'd dip my toes in the water to see what I could find of these, since I bet I'll be able to nab his base card in a trade with one of you before long.

I decided to watch an auction of his Black parallel since it had a nice, low starting price and $0.99 shipping.  To my surprise, my $3.99 minimum bid was enough, and a few days later I found this in my mailbox:

J.J. Putz 2013 Topps Black (#36/62)

I rag on Topps a lot, but there's still many aspects of their products that I like, and one of them is the yearly presence of the Black parallels.  I'm first in line for the crowd that wants to see the retail exclusives gone, but at least for me, the Golds and Blacks are a yearly tradition that should continue.  I'm even more in favor of the Black cards just because they have the "real" serial number stamping that the others lack.

My Putz collection moves up another couple cards (please see below) to a new IHAS count of 56 (including three 1/1s).

NOTE:  for yet ANOTHER recent Putz pickup, please check out my post from this evening over on TMV!