No, YOU check out MY cards: baseball edition

Previously:
Hockey
Football

Here it is as promised:  part 3 of my huge COMC purchase shipment:  baseball.  As I've stated many times on this blog, there are a few Michigan alumni that graduated to MLB that I collect whenever I can, and I was happy to grab a few of those over the course of the several COMC purchases I made.

A quick note:  I added this one,

a 2008 Donruss EEE auto, before I traded for another one separately on Blowout.  Well now I have two, but as usual I only count one for my collection.  Now that I'm starting to build up some dupes I may eventually put them up for trade for other Michigan stuff.  Now on with the rest of the haul!:

Bobby Korecky 2008 Sweet Spot auto RC:  I don't come across Korecky cards I want too often (usually because the prices don't make sense) but I did manage to find another auto/RC to go along with the other one I have, a 2008 SPx.  I do like the overall style of this card--a full bleed photograph, an on-card autograph and the stamped stitching effect on either side.  Plus, of course, it's a serial numbered RC.  Pretty cool.

Chris Getz 2007 Bowman Signs of the Future auto:  I found a pair of Getz cards I liked, both from his stint with the ChiSox.  This card (and its several variations) is oddly Getz's only one from 2007, and his actual RCs are from 2008, for whatever reason.

Chris Getz 2010 Topps Peak Performance auto:  I think I've said this about others in the set, but I generally like the design on these, but only the autographs.  I hadn't realized that Getz had accomplished what the front of the card states--that he was the AL's "most successful" base-stealer in 2009.  That's slightly misleading, though--he didn't steal the most, he just had the highest percentage at a certain cutoff:  25/27, or about 93%.  That's still somewhat bragable, just a weird stat to celebrate in this kind of set.  Of course, I'm happy that a Wolverine got included, he just seems like a strange addition, but that's Topps for you.

Clayton Richard 2009 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions Autographs auto:  I'm glad I finally got something of Richard, who's actually a fairly interesting case.  He came to Michigan to play baseball and football (but not to screw us over a la Drew Henson) as a QB, but after a redshirt in 2003 lost out to the phenomenon that was Chad Henne.  Fortunately, Clayton made the most of his baseball career here and parlayed that into an 8th round pick by the White Sox in 2005 (along with Getz in the 4th).  Even more fortunately, as with Getz I don't have to hate the team he's on any longer because he was traded to San Diego in the 2009 Jake Peavy deal.  Despite "experts" like Rotoworld doubting that he'd have any kind of success there, he went 14-9 with a 3.75 ERA for the Pads in 2010, so as far as I'm concerned, the White Sox can continue to SUCK IT.

Rich Hill 2006 Flair Showcase Fresh Ink auto:  the next few cards shouldn't come as too much of a shock to you--I found a bunch of Rich Hills I liked at nice prices.  We'll start with this autograph, which carries on the Fresh Ink line, a set I liked since its earlier Fleer Ultra versions.  The blue works very well with Rich's Cubs uni and the autograph looks great.

Rich Hill 2006 Topps Co-Signers Solo Sigs auto:  From the same year, here's a Topps Co-Signers autograph.  I've generally liked the Co-Signers sets since they came into being and this one's no different.

Rich Hill 2006 Topps Triple Threads Sepia dual jersey auto:  Now we get a little high-class with a Triple Threads card.  It's not a rookie, but it's got a lot of other features I like:  dual pinstriped jerseys, serial numbering and a nice autograph.  The sticker location is really the only thing that takes away from an otherwise excellent card (did they really need to make the set logo so large that they'd have to cover up part of the player with a sticker?).

Rich Hill 2006 Ultimate Collection Printing Plates Black:  Now here's one I was excited to get.  I grabbed it by itself for something like $15 from a guy that was asking $20, so I feel like I got myself a reasonable deal.  It's my first baseball printing plate and only second overall (the other being a Brandon Graham).  Despite MLB's insistence upon using that "Rookie Card" logo whenever the hell it feels like it, Hill's RCs actually hail from 2002.

Rich Hill 2007 Sweet Spot Signatures Red Stitch Blue Ink auto:  If this one looks pretty familiar, that's because I also have the gold version, which is of course more limited.  Unfortunately, the autograph on that one is a lot more legible than this one, but this is still a pretty sweet card.

Rich Hill 2007 Topps Turkey Red Relics jersey:  Oddly enough, this is the only relic-only card I picked up in the baseball group, but that shouldn't be too big of a surprise due to my growing dislike of relics compared to autographs.  This one was a pretty good deal, though, and getting a Cubs pinstripe card meant a good pickup.

Rich Hill 2007 Ultimate Collection Ultimate Futures Signatures auto:  I like the fact that this card has a fairly low serial number, but I don't really get why UD didn't do more with this card--you get an isolated picture of Hill and not much else.  Solid otherwise, though.

Rich Hill 2007 Upper Deck Goudey Goudey Graphs auto:  a pretty cool not-quite-mini, not-quite-normal-sized autograph of a pretty happy Rich Hill.

Zach Putnam 2008 Razor Letterman Dual-Color N patch auto:  That's right, I finally got literally the ONE player I wanted from all of '08 Letterman!  So of course Razor decided to put the patch in upside-down.  No big deal, I still like the card--the multi-colored ones (#d /20) from this set are pretty sharp.  Not a bad shot of Zach in action for Michigan in the background either.

Zach Putnam 2008 Razor Letterman U patch auto:  That's right, I got TWO of the card I wanted the most from Letterman.  This is the single-colored, non-numbered version, but I'm still happy to have it.  The jury's out on whether or not I'll go for a nameplate (I do have a mix between the variations so far) but this is a great start.  COMC has been the only place I've seen reasonable prices for these; some jackasses on eBay are asking more than TRIPLE the Beckett price (at which these don't sell to begin with) and wondering why they haven't sold month after month.

Zach Putnam 2008 Razor Signature Series auto:  Same year, same brand, different set.  This one was literally less than $1 but the autograph looks great and there's another nice shot of Putnam pitching for the Wolverines.  Great deal.

Zach Putnam 2008 Razor Signature Series Black auto:  For only $1 more I got this rarer version, which confirms that Putnam is consistent with his signature even after signing more than 1000.

So now that you've seen the entire haul, how do you think I did on my first foray into COMC, keeping in mind I spent around $170 delivered for 40 cards?  That's right, not including shipping, I paid about $4/card for everything you saw in all three groups.  I hope you've enjoyed a look at a large addition to my PC and that some of you discovered or confirmed a great way to acquire some new stuff.

Now you can all get ready for a look at my share from Tim's (GSNHOF) trade bait draft as those arrived today.  I should have something on those tomorrow.

In the meantime, a quick congratulations to my alma mater for their basketball victory over hated Michigan State.  I fully admit that I don't really support our basketball team, not so much because of our generally lack of success, but because I hardly give a lick about the sport, my least favorite.  Still, that was a huge win over a rival, and possibly one that'll get us back into the NCAA tourney.  GO BLUE!