What's a Player Collector To Do...

...when they HATE their player's picture on a card?

Take, for instance, this 2010 Topps Series 2 Luke Hochevar card.  I do not like the photograph used on this card. 

Everything about this card is awkward and annoying to me. 

So, what is a player collector to do?  That's right, collect the whole set.

I tracked down the black boarder parallel (#'d /59), the black SuperStoreSpecial variation, and the Topps Umbrella logo cards.

I bought multiple silk cards (#'d 12/50 and 34/50, respectively).

I picked up an eBay 1/1 Bronze parallel (#'d 001/399) just last week. 

Incidentally, up until about two weeks ago I did not know that these bronze parallels existed.  Then, while I was researching the Series 2 parallels on BaseballCardpedia, I saw that there was a bronze parallel.  I'm sure I had encountered them previously, but mistook them for the gold variety.  I did a search on eBay and found one listed in a BIN auction, threw the seller an offer, and a few days later this card was on my scanner.

And I can't forget about the 1/1 Platinum parallel that my mom bought for me for my birthday, can I?

I even chased down a pile of the 2010 Topps Chrome cards whose motto could be, "The same lame picture, but now with 100% more card-bending chrome".

And who wouldn't want the printing plates?  It wouldn't be much of a collection without the printing plates.

These printing plates are my own version of the 2011 Topps "Spot the Error" cards.

A quick search of the BaseballCardpedia shows that I need a Gold parallel (#'d /2010), a Red parallel (#'d /299), and three more printing plates to complete the Series 2 set.

It also appears I need a refractor, a Superfractor, and the three remaining printing plates to finish off my Chrome rainbow.  

It's bad enough that I have to wait until Series 2 to get my favorite player's cards, but do they have to rub it in by using such a horrible picture?  Here's hoping that the 2011 presentation is a bit more palatable.

Also, I added a fourth wall-hanging card display to my basement wall today, which allowed me to do some rearranging and I discovered that I'm up to 162 unique Hochevar cards in my collection.  Not too shabby for a years worth of collecting.  Maybe someday I'll make a list of the ones I still need.  But I doubt it.