• J.J. says his Dad formed a special bond when he was little and taught him how to throw a baseball. That unity is still there today.

  "He was always at the baseball field with me," said Putz of his father, Joe. "He was one of my first coaches. I remember in college, my senior year, he didn't miss a single game, home or away."

  The elder Putz, who was a football player in high school, owned a construction company for 30 years. He also dabbled in softball and often J.J. would attend his games and watch proudly as his dad would mash the ball a "country mile."

  Despite Joe's athletic background, there was never any pressure on J.J. or his younger brother to be involved in organized sports.

  "I don't remember him ever pushing my brother or me to do anything," explained Putz. "My brother and I both played a bunch of different sports and my parents never really pushed us to do one—they let us do our own thing. He was always very, very supportive—my Mom, too."

  The relationship wasn't limited to the playing field. In J.J.'s youth, Joe would take him and his brother to the Eastern Market in downtown Detroit where they'd shop for fresh fish and flowers. Later, when J.J. was in college, Joe would make the 40-minute drive to the University of Michigan to take his son out to dinner for no particular reason.

  "We still have a good relationship," said Putz. "We talk a couple of times per day." C.J. Bowles-MLB.com-6/16/06)

• J.J. comes from Trenton, Michigan, where he lived about 20 minutes away from Ryan Anderson, Seattle's No. 1 draft pick in 1997. When Anderson was considering whether to sign or go to college out of Dearborn's Divine Child High School, he made a recruiting trip to the University of Michigan, where his host was Putz, the Wolverines' star righthander.

• Putz was a catcher until his junior year in high school. But his offensive capabilities were so lacking that occasionally Putz was replaced in the lineup by the designated hitter and not Trenton High School's pitcher that day. When his summer league coach tried him on the mound, he was throwing in the low 90s right away.

  "I was a catcher, and I'd get DH'd for," Putz said. "It wasn't until my junior and senior years that I was pitching."

  And pitching pretty well, we might add. He was an all-state pick in Michigan in both those years.

• "Growing up in Michigan, I've always rooted for the Tigers, and still do, except when we're playing them," J.J. said. "My all-time favorite player is Lance Parrish. I grew up as a catcher and had that Lance Parrish black mitt with the orange in the middle."

• At the University of Michigan, J.J. took a haphazard approach to the game and, consequently, underachieved. His conditioning and maturity lacked until his junior season of 1999. Then, he turned it around, a bit.

• While at the University of Michigan, "Tom Brady lived in my dorm, but he was pretty low-key, always watching film," J.J. said. "He wasn't a big party guy."
  
  When he was asked if he was, Putz grinned, "I got my work done, but let's just say I had a good time in college."

• Putz is three classes shy of his degree in sports management at Michigan.

• J.J. and teammate Jeff Heaverlo forged a friendship as minor league teammates. As radio guests while with Double-A San Antonio in 2001, they talked baseball and had fun reviewing restaurants and telling tales of horror about minor league travel on buses and cheap motels. They even chart pitches together in the stands, sometimes, eavesdropping on scouts who are sitting near them.

• Putz was at a party to celebrate Michigan's Big Ten tournament title his senior season when he met a freshman Wolverines softball player named Kelsey Kollen. Soon, J.J. was drafted and signed by the Mariners, but they stayed in touch via lots of phone calls.
  
  Finally, they were married in November 2002. In November 2005, she delivered twin daughters, Lauren and Kaelyn.
  
  "My wife was a two-time All-American softball player at Michigan, a second baseman, so she understands pressure and disappointments—knows when to give me space and when to give me a little needle," Putz said.
  
  "With the twins (Lauren and Kaelyn), when I get home from the ballpark, they don't care how I did. They just want a hug from Daddy," J.J. said.

• Putz was asked wht he'd be doing if he weren't a Major League pitcher, "I'd probably be a fireman. One of my grandpas was a fireman."
  
  And J.J. proudly says that his hero is his younger brother, Brian, who is a firefighter in Taylor, Michigan.

• J.J. cares about the game and cares about the game, about doing the job on the field. He also likes to keep his teammates loose.

• April 12, 2008 was J.J. Putz soul patch night in Seattle. The first 20,000 fans received replica "soul patches" to mimic the little tuft of hair Putz wears below his lower lip that has become his trademark.

• Born and raised in Michigan, the Putz is an avid fan of anything connected to his home state, including the Red Wings, who met the Pittsburgh Penguins for the National Hockey League championship in 2008. So J.J. was glued to the action, whenever he wasn't at the ballpark.

  "I've been a Wings fan my whole life," Putz said. "I can skate, but I never played hockey. My brother Brian played, and he was a pretty good defenseman."

• Among Putz's favorites: TV show: Friends
  
  Music: Godsmack, Disturbed, T.I.
  
  Movies: The Usual Suspects, Old School, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
  
  Bookmarks: espn.com, aol.com, mgoblue.com
  
  Book: Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell (in the spring of 2009)
  
  Dinner: Filet Mignon with blue cheese
  
  Hero: "My brother Brian, a fireman in Taylor, Michigan"
  
  Team as a kid: Detroit Red Wings
  
  J.J said he'd love to trade places with: "A Navy SEAL, just to feel what it's like to be feared around the world."
  
  His bucket list: 1. Skydive, 2. See a Duke home basketball game, 3. See an SEC football game, 4. Win a World Series, 5. Fly in a fighter jet.
  (Jeff D'Alessio-The Sporting News-3/16/09)

• All the relievers point to Putz for keeping things loose and effective in the bullpen. He's their leader and their ringleader. He's a jokester with a very serious side when it comes to pitching.

  "His personality and the way he works and prepares rubs off on a lot of us," Hernandez said.

  "He's easy to talk to," added fellow reliever Mike Zagurski. "It makes it a little easier for everybody when he's the big dog at the end and he's as easy to talk to as the rookies."(August 2012)

• Putz comes into a game with the entrance music "Thunderstruck" blaring at Chase Field in Phoenix.

• During the winter before 2013 spring training, J.J. adjusted his diet after finding out he has a food sensitivity to gluten and dairy.

  By avoiding those two things, Putz said he dropped nearly 15 pounds without changing his usual workout routine.

  "I feel amazing," Putz said. "I'm up at 5:45 a.m., wide awake jumping out of bed. When I lay down to go to bed at 11, I'm out. I don't move when I sleep, I have energy all day."
  
  
  TRANSACTIONS

• In 1995, Putz was drafted out of high school by the White Sox in the third round. "They tell you never to take the first offer, so we didn't," J.J. said. "Chicago never called back."
  
  In 1998, he was drafted by the Twins in the 17th round.
  
  In 1999, he finally signed when the Mariners picked him in the sixth round, out of the University of Michigan.

• January 17, 2007: Putz signed a three-year, $13.1 million contract with the Mariners. It calls for $2.2 million in 2007, $3.4 million in 2008, and $5 million in 2009. He receives a $1.5 million signing bonus and the Mariners have an $8.6 million option for 2010, with a $1 million buyout.
  Right after J.J. signed that pact, he called former teammate and mentor Eddie Guardado to thank him.
  
  "Eddie was kind of a like a big brother to me," Putz said. "He took me under his wing. More than anything, he took care of the mental side of this job. If you have a short-term memory, it will eat you alive. That was one of the things that he preached to me and the other guys in the bullpen."

• December 11, 2008: In a complicated trade, the Mets sent six players to the Mariners, including Aaron Heilman, Endy Chavez, Double-A first baseman Mike Carp, lefthander Jason Vargas and prospects Maikel Cleto and Ezequiel Carrera. They also shipped reliever Joe Smith to the Indians, with the Indians receiving infielder Luis Valbuena from the Mariners, and the Indians sent OF Franklin Gutierrez to the Mariners. The Mets picked up Putz from Seattle along with righthander Sean Green and outfielder Jeremy Reed.

• November 7, 2009: The Mets declined the $8.6 million option for 2010, making him a free agent.

• December 11, 2009: The White Sox signed Putz to a one-year, $3 million contract. J.J. can make another $3.25 million in incentives, based on him closing games all season.

• December 6, 2010: Putz signed a two-year contract with the Diamondbacks, with a club option for 2013.
  
  And on October 20, 2012, the D'Backs picked up that option, which was $6.5 million for 2013.

• January 14, 2013: J.J. and the D'Backs agreed on a $13.5 million, two-year contract, a deal that adds a $7 million salary for 2014.
  

• June 26 2014: The Diamondbacks released Putz.

• Putz is pronounced like "puts," not "putts."
• He has a 93-97 mph, two-seam FASTBALL with good natural sinking movement, a 90-94 mph four-seamer, brought back a hard SLIDER in spring, 2013 to help retire righthanded batters, and a sharp CURVE he rarely throws. He has a decent CHANGEUP and added a SPLITTER late in 2004 that is now his best pitch.
  
  J.J. is very unusual in that he throws his two-seamer with more velocity than his four-seamer. He will use his slider occasionally against a lefthanded hitter, just to keep the batter off-balance. But mostly, he relies on just two pitches, his fastball and splitter. And it is the splitter that is his put-away pitch.

• J.J. still works off his fastball. But that splitter is one of the very best in the game—maybe the best. It starts at mid-thigh and ends up in the dirt every time. A lot of guys' splitters will tail or cut, but J.J.'s is straight down.
  
  Putz leared his splitter playing catch before a game in 2004 with then-Mariners closer Eddie Guardado, Putz was tinkering with a way to put more movement on his ball when his teammate approached him.

  "Here, try this," Putz recalled Guardado saying, spreading his fingers to the laces.

  So Putz did, and the ball dove toward the ground.

  "And that was that," he said, laughing.

  Now, the split-fingered fastball is probably Putz's greatest weapon.

• He has good command, and can pitch up and down in the strike zone. He can pitch in and out of the strike zone, also. When he's throwing his breaking ball for strikes, it makes it tough to lay off his high fastball.

• April 30, 2000: Putz threw a 7-inning no-hitter for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. He beat the Kane County Cougars (Marlins) 6-1.

• In 2001 at San Antonio (TL-M's), pitching instructor Steve Peck streamlined his mechanics, J.J. took a new mindset and, as Putz said, "Things just started to click. I was kind of passive, kind of tentative, and he just gave me a kick. He taught me how to speed up my windup so there’s less room for error. I don’t know if I ever established a rhythm to my windup before."

• J.J. showed up at 2003 spring training with an effective new delivery, courtesy of winter work with instructors Pat Rice and Jim Slaton, and a new bulldog attitude. He challenges hitters, not nibbling around the plate like most young pitchers.

• A starter at the beginning of his career, he now pitches in relief. In the 2006 season, he became the closer for the Mariners. And as a closer, he does the most important thing: throw strikes.

  There is one distinct difference to pitching in the ninth inning as opposed to any other inning, Putz said. Just call it the adrenaline factor.

• In May 2006, Putz took over at least a portion of the Mariners closer responsibilities, after Eddie Guardado was officially demoted. Ironically, it was Guardado that had J.J. change his grip a quarter-turn on his splitter. That made his splitter a very nasty pitch that just drops off the table.

• J.J. slows down the pace of the game. That is big for him being successful.
  
  "The whole key is to slow things down," Putz said. "Never speed up. This game's hard enough at a normal speed. When you let it get faster, you start hearing the crowd, start thinking about something other than your next pitch. Pretty soon you've given up a four-spot and you're wondering, 'What just happened?'"

• Though he gets a lot of K's, Putz said, "I still don't consider myself a strikeout pitcher. I'd rather get early contact, ground balls. A guy jumps on the first pitch and flies out? Thank you. The last thing I want to do is go deep into the count. But, I know if I need a strikeout, I can get it."

• Puts was 32-for-37 in save opportunities in 2012.
  

• Putz entered the 2014 season with a career record of 36-32 and a 2.99 ERA, having allowed only 49 home runs and 452 hits in 553 innings.

     POST-PLAYING CAREER POSITIONS

• Nov. 6, 2014: Putz rejoined the Diamondbacks as a special Assistant to CEO Derrick Hall.

• 2002: J.J. started the season on the D.L. while recovering from shoulder tendinitis. But he was back in action in mid-April.
• September 2005: Putz pulled a hamstring diving for a ball during a game in Detroit.

• April 2-21, 2008: J.J. went on the D.L.

• June 11-July 20, 2008: Putz came out of a game at Toronto with a sore right elbow. An MRI revealed a hyperextended elbow that resulted in triceps tendon inflammation and an irritated ulnar nerve. The exam showed no damage to the ulnar collateral ligament or the flexor bundle in the elbow, the Mariners said. But he went on the D.L. with what was diagnosed as a hyper-extended right elbow.

• May 13, 2009: Putz received an MRI and had an injection of anti-inflammatory medication to attempt to alleviate inflammation in the back of his right elbow, being sidelined for three games. The inflammation is caused by a bone spur, which also contributed to sending Putz to the disabled list in the summer of 2008 with the Mariners (noted above). He probably will need offseason surgery to remove it.
  
  June 5, 2009: J.J. was put on the D.L. after exams revealed a broken bone spur in the back of his right elbow. Surgery was required on June 9 to remove the bone spur, and he was projected to miss about six weeks.
  
  But on August 25, the Mets announced Putz was found to have a minor tear in the medial collateral ligament in his right elbow and would miss the rest of the season.

• August 24-September 9, 2010: J.J. was on the D.L. with a sore right knee.

• March 18, 2011: Putz had to leave an exhibition game with stiffness in his back. He was day-to-day as of the start of the 2011 season.

• June 29-July 26, 2011: J.J. was on the D.L. with right elbow tendinitis.

• May 7-June 29, 2013: The D-backs placed Putz on the 15-day disabled list with an elbow strain. An MRI showed an irritated nerve and inflammation in a ligament.
  
  August 24-September 16, 2013: Putz dislocated his right pinkie on a ball hit back up the middle by the Phillies' Kevin Frandsen. J.J. tried to barehand the ball, but it ricocheted to SS Cliff Pennington who threw Frandsen out. But Putz suffered a laceration as well as a dislocation of his finger.

• May 6-June 9, 2014: Putz was placed on the 15-day disabled list. He had right forearm tightness.