Four bounces and then a short roll ... and then it just sits there.

Spoiler alert: That's the "action" sequence for this latest ball in the Collecting Game-used series but for a random grab-bag ball -- one picked only by its game date -- this one stands out from the pack to a degree. Why? It's got a modest bit of scarring from what it hit off the bat of an All-Star caliber player and it's got a blooper-caliber whimsy to it all, too, with a sequence in a pandemic-era stadium that's quiet enough for you to also hear it all and notice that there are no background reactions at all, either, save for an ump giving it a brief glance.

Keep reading to see the details this time ... and the ball in action.

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The condition of this ball says it all.

My latest addition to this Collecting Game-used series is again one that I found on the cheap -- less than the cost of a 2024 Bowman mega box -- but it's one that commands attention based on its look alone. That makes it a cool ball, too, but there's also an All-Star attached. (Admittedly, many game-used baseballs are near-anonymous ... not this time on either front.) Why did I grab it? Beyond the visuals, it's also a player I collect, Bo Bichette, though he's too pricey to command the cash I'd need for an ironclad MLB Authenticated game-used helmet, jersey or bat. That one reason baseballs like this can be a little more appealing -- it' a one-of-a-kind item with full ironclad authentication without breaking the bank.

Keep reading to see the details this time ... and the ball in action.

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Buzz recently landed a grail item ... and here's its story.

My latest in this Collecting Game-used series is a game-used jersey for a player probably most of you won't know -- actually, I expect that -- and it's an item that's pushing 50 years old, too, so it's definitely not a piece with ironclad straight-off-the-back holographically stickered documentation with an authenticity statement that can be looked up in some database somewhere at any time on any day.

In this case, though? I can without any hesitation state that this 1976-77 Houston Rockets road jersey is as real as it gets, was on the back of small forward John "J.J" Johnson back in the day -- likely all season long when on the road and then during the playoffs, too. These days, postseason jerseys would have extra touches on them with specialty patches attached and in some cases a guy might wear a few jerseys per game. In this case it's just like any other jersey -- if there are any others.

How do I know it's legit, though? Some dumb luck, really, thanks to a publicly available photo database cross-checked with Johnson's game logs for his two seasons with the Rockets. It's mostly the luck part thanks to one photographer's work from back in the day, a photo that's not the norm at all from those years. It's also an ironclad match thanks to some quirky flaws on this jersey -- look closely at that "Houston" we'll come back to that later. It might have scared some people off of this one as this sat on eBay for weeks (if not months) before I made it my biggest hobby purchase ever in decades of collecting. Why? Some school ties -- Johnson was the first former NBA player I ever interviewed long, long ago ... and also the fact that vintage game-used memorabilia just doesn't pop up regularly. I doubt I'd be able to find anything comparable ever again if I passed it up.

Keep reading to see the details this time -- it's those weird flaws that make this photo-match a lock.

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A career first ... that's simply hard to pass up no matter who it is.

My latest ball in this Collecting Game-used series is one I found on the cheap -- well, at least cheaper than some retail mega boxes out there and not much more than some game-used mystery boxes -- and it was used for three pitches in The Show ... one from a routine out and then two to a rookie playing in just his second game as a big-leaguer.

Keep reading to see the details this time ... and the ball in action.

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These were too weird to not grab -- and the bigger the better.

My latest item in this Collecting Game-used series is not game-used and they're a bit of a mystery, too, despite coming from a reputable source and straight from an NBA team.

The image above? Well, that kind of says it all -- it's a pair of Detroit Pistons Crocs made for the NBA Paris Game in 2023 -- but to put this one in perspective, well, just see the next image.

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It's always about the details -- and this time they spoke to me.

My newest item in this Collecting Game-used series is admittedly not game-used as in game action but it's pretty definitely used in its documented details and is unique ... as in I think it's perhaps the only one of its kind and a first.

It's an MLB Authenticated Alex Avila Detroit Tigers home jersey -- one that's tagged from back in 2009 but didn't get itself an MLBA sticker until after the 2022 season. How did that happen? Well, that's a mystery of its own -- and I can't solve that one -- but what struck me as interesting beyond that year, his first of 13 in MLB, was that uniform number for starters.

Keep reading to see the details this time ... and oddly enough it was documented in a different way for the first time tomorrow back in 2009.

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Big name, small price ... I couldn't pass on that.

My latest item in this Collecting Game-used series is a little different than a lot of my buys when it comes to MLB Authenticated baseballs. Most times, I go the mystery-box route on the cheap with key dates or certain teams with players I like or collect among the likely possibilities, but this one was a straight-up buy -- still on the cheap -- recently. Why? That's because it was used for a pair of pitches from a newcomer on a World Series winner to one of the biggest names in the game today.

The price? Less than a retail mega box of whatever new card brand you like -- a certainty with this item this time vs. playing the possibilities of what might from packs. The possibility will get me often, but this time a game-used future Hall of Famer in my stash here works just fine with That Mike Trout Guy attached. (He good.)

Keep reading to see the details this time ... and the ball in action.

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Second verse, same as the first -- well this time with a little less Lava.

It's apparently National Hat Day today, so I figured I'd get this Collecting Game-used series back on track (I missed doing one last month) with another game-used cap from down on the farm and this time it's from a specialty game and a player who actually did play in a pair of big-league games last year after spending the summer for the Columbus Clippers. If you don't recognize the logo, this one's from a game where they were the Veleros de Columbus during MiLB's Copa de la Diversión games.

As I noted last time, sometimes, unraveling the mystery is part of the fun with gamers ... and that mystery part doesn't happen as often with MLB stuff where it's as if everything that's used can get an MLB Authentication sticker and have a place in a database forever before it hits a collection or gets chopped up to live inside a baseball card. But down on the farm? It can be a different story. Sure, stuff gets documented and sold with a team letter or certificate often -- especially at the end of a season when the players are gone (and might not come back) -- but not everything.

Most of my items in this series are MLB or other things that are ironclad in their documentation or I have been able to photo-match the item exactly to a photo, video or event. This time? Not so much (though I admittedly ran out of time to really dig), but it did have some features and some mystery that worked out for a bargain price and it turned out to be another player who got a taste of the major leagues this past season and has played in The Show for a few years.

Keep reading to see the details this time.

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Sometimes, unraveling the mystery is part of the fun with gamers ... and that mystery part doesn't happen as often with MLB stuff where it's almost as if everything that's used on a field or during a game can get an MLB Authentication sticker and have a place in a database forever before it hits a collection or gets chopped up to live inside a baseball card.

But down on the farm before they are big-leaguers? It can be a different story. Sure, stuff gets documented and auctioned/sold with a team letter or certificate quite often -- especially at the end of a season when the players are gone (and might not come back next year) -- but not everything. Baseballs? Nope. Caps? Not often. Helmets? Sometimes. Buzz did some on-the-cheap power-shopping in recent months and landed a few game-used caps from MiLB action and this first one is from the Columbus Clippers, the Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians.

Most of my items in this Collecting Game-used series are MLB or other things that are ironclad in their documentation or I have been able to photo-match the item exactly to a photo, video or event. This time? Not so much, but it did have some features and some mystery that worked out for a bargain price -- cheaper than some packs of cards out in the retail wild -- and it turned out to be a player who got a taste of the major leagues in 2022, too.

Keep reading to see the details this time.

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Buzz just went 2-for-2 with this home run from a bargain bin mystery box.

No, it's not a literal home run ball -- that won't happen for the price of a blaster box these days -- but I went 2-for-2 with there being a pair of quality names attached to this one ... a ball that could be a late-ballot/committee guy in Cooperstown someday and Cy Young-caliber arm for a franchise that right now might be in its early phase of running up some championships. (He's already got one World Series ring and might be a favorite for one more this season.)

My latest ball in this Collecting Game-used series is once again one that I picked up just like others in this series lately -- a blind grab bag buy of sorts just picking by date -- with the same teams involved, too. I added two new names -- two quality names -- to my stash.

Keep reading to see the details this time ... and the ball in action.

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Not every item in every MLB game gets one of those special little silver stickers and not every moment is captured on film ... or at least film that is easily found. (Video? Maybe.)

In a nutshell, that sums up this month's item in this Collecting Game-used series. You can see a teaser of what's left of the pice above with pine tar and shards of what looks like maple left behind. Thankfully, while there's a lot of mystery to this one, the identifying side of the barrel remains in play ... and that is why I grabbed this piece for my personal collection.

You can keep reading to see the details.

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There's a glove story attached to this one.

My latest ball in this Collecting Game-used series is again one that I picked up just like others in this run lately -- a blind grab bag buy of sorts just picking by date -- with the same teams involved, too. But, this time it's not any of the three names attached to this ball that makes it a bit cooler when one goes to the tape.

This time, it's all about the defense -- and a near-miss that could have had this one end up on SportsCenter.

Keep reading to see the details this time ... and the ball in action.

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The Rookie of the Year wanted a piece of this pitch ... but somebody else got that.

My latest ball in this Collecting Game-used series is one that I picked up just like others in this series -- a blind grab bag buy of sorts just picking by date -- with the same teams involved as a past time ... but this time the eventual Rookie of the Year, Atlanta Braves outfielder Michael Harris II, is a great name attached.

That alone made it a simple highlight for me ... until I saw the highlight reel.

Keep reading to see the details this time ... and the ball in action.

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If you're a regular reader here, then you know that Ballers has had a place in this Collecting Game-used series with other event-used pieces shown off here a few times -- in fact this is not the first time I have typed something like that.

Yes, I realize that "the game" there isn't reality, but the items used in production are, and, this time, it's for an item I bought cheap and on a whim -- 100-percent without research. And ironically the piece turned out to be the lynchpin to an entire scene and it was all there all along ... I just had to go to the tape.

Some quick background -- there was unique auction for a number of props from the HBO series via Heritage Auctions and Screenbid a few years ago and then the remaining props and other pieces went off to a company that burns that stuff from all kinds of production companies over time for this and other shows. Some items can be sold on the serious cheap because the company doesn't necessarily have the time to match things up to specific episodes or moments like you're about to see, though some items come with more detail than others.

If not, keep reading to see the details this time.

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Two big names, one cool surprise.

My latest ball in this Collecting Game-used series is one that has two solid names attached to it -- Atlanta Braves 1B Matt Olson and former Braves SS Dansby Swanson from a game last season -- and it's got something else as part of its usage that I have not yet seen while tracking down and documenting a few dozen or so game-used balls.

The surprise? This one was used for an entire at-bat for one of them -- a full-count walk even -- after contact from the other giving it a life that's beyond many baseballs where they are used for a pitch or two and often for merely just one batter. Atop that, it's got some impressive discoloration from bat contact and even more impressive scuffing from ground contact that's just not as common as you might think with a lot of big-league baseballs that are prepped for play (so they're dirty enough to grip) but taken out if damage gets to be too much. (Sometimes you might get one ... but not often both.)

Keep reading to see the details this time ... and the ball in action.

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It's the little things ...

I'm nearly at the end of my dozen game-used balls I picked up long ago from the Phillies -- hard to pass 'em up at $10 apiece with BallQubes -- and this one has been at the bottom of the box awaiting its Collecting Game-used turn with a pair of veterans attached here and more than one pitch in an at-bat, too, as part of one player's first full season in The Show.

Is it a win? For the price, sure, but only one of the two is probably a "collector" name now ... and certainly not to the degree that he might have once been, though he has a World Series ring.

Keep reading to see the details this time ... and the ball in action.

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If you're a regular reader here, then you know that Ballers has had a place in this Collecting Game-used series and other event-used pieces shown off here a few times over.

Why? A unique auction in the past saw a lot of props from the HBO series hit the open market via Heritage Auctions and Screenbid a few years ago and then remaining props and other pieces went off to a company that burns off props from all kinds of production companies over time for this and many other shows.

This one this month? Well, it's right there in the wheelhouse of all that -- a holiday pick-up of mine when the current company selling it all off actually offered discounts on items and I finally grabbed a piece that's fun, unique and has a tie to the big game this Sunday. If you know the show, then you know the tie-in.

If not, keep reading to see the details this time.

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Sometimes, you can still get a surprise from the bargain bin.

Is that the case with this one this time? Perhaps ... but it's not something that will add much value per se. It is, however, something that could make a simple item like a game-used baseball seem a little more interesting than, say, the scuffs or dirt that pop up on them from time to time.

Keep reading to see the details this time ... and the ball in action.

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If you want to know how simple things in the everyday for sports have changed over the years -- just the recent years -- then this month's item is a perfect example.

It's less than a decade old, but there's no irrefutable video to show this one in action over on the MLB Film Room (at least not yet) database of video clips. And there are no added stats attached to this one -- at least on its MLB Authentication entry -- to offer up advanced into on stuff that some people love. (No biggie for me, spin rates aren't needed.) At a glance it's perhaps one officially from the stone ages.

What's this one's deal? Well, you can probably guess with those stitches ... it's not a bad photo, it's a specialty ball.

You can keep reading to see the details ... and maybe the ball in action.

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I've never read up on how many baseballs MLB uses in a year, but given the volume of game-used balls up for grabs from teams regularly -- to the point where they'll sell them in mystery boxes on the cheap -- they are readily available.

Yet, at the same time, they're not all the same.

The big dog is, of course, the home run ball and right up there are other hits and then strikeouts for pitchers. But for any one of any of those bigs there are plenty more -- maybe dozens more -- baseballs that were pitches in the dirt, called strikes, foul balls  and line-outs (though I think those are better than others here) and then other stuff like beanballs and wild pitches among others. Ultimately, the biggest piece of the puzzle for appeal -- and especially for value here -- is which players' names are attached.

This month? Not the biggest names and not the biggest moment -- but it's a one-pitch, one-swing kind of ball that's perhaps not the most common -- and, the best part, it only cost me $10 despite the fact that I can video match it using the MLB Film Room along with its MLB Authentication.

You can keep reading to see the details ... and the ball in action.

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Sometimes, there are no extra visuals to photo-match a piece

Forget sometimes ... that's almost always the case with pretty much everything that's game-used before the advent of the MLB Authentication program in 2001. That was the year MLB started stickering and databasing items from the field of play creating a whole new playing field for memorabilia. But this month's piece in this Collecting Game-used series isn't from that past era, either.

This one is from just 2014 ... an item that's newer, but one from when the capture-every-play MLB Film Room and complete data with authentication for every pitch where a ball was used didn't exist. It's stickered but short of finding a pirated game video online (I did a brief search and found nothing), it's a ball that I can only show here and then offer up from info from a game's summary to help tell its story.

You can keep reading to see the details.

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It was 45 years ago today that Elvis Presley died after a career filled with historic successes but, no, this one isn't showcase for a piece of The King -- though I own cards with pieces with memorabilia he wore in them as those have been made as part of many past card sets.

This one's more in my traditional collecting wheelhouse and a simple piece of memorabilia for a current star over in the wrestling realm who is a fan of Presley as well as other musical acts -- and they were often seen in small ways on her decorated leather jackets worn to the ring. It this one of those jackets? Nah, I don't have a couple grand to land one -- but I totally want to.

This is something far simpler from outside the WWE realm, and back in July in this very Collecting Game-used series you got Part 1. This is a promised follow-up piece that I landed at that same time, and, while this isn't really a "game-used" item, it's 100-percent photo-matched to a shoot over on Instagram.

You can see a hint of it above. Keep reading to see the reveal.

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I've presented a lot of baseballs in this Collecting Game-used series, but this new low-priced pickup of mine isn't one from the discount bin (my usual for baseballs as I'm a bargain-hunter) yet it was a steal in my eyes.

It was a mere $50 -- that's cheap for a ball -- and it's one that comes with a little extra history attached to go with that tiny piece of "Seashore Paspalum, Platinum TE" (that's a grass type) in the seams from Truist Park ... so, yes, that means this is another Atlanta Braves ball.

A visit to MLB Authentication and then to the MLB Film Room captured the moment where this ball's life began and ended and it presented something slightly different than my previous visual evidence shows (the play happened differently than I imagined ... you'll see). Yet, it was still a first for a highly watched rookie's career. It's also a first for me in that its authentication listing shows a few extra pitches, too, where the Film Room shows that part of the listing to not be accurate. (It happens but not often.) A foul ball before this one went to the backstop and the umpire reaches into his bag to give a new ball to the pitcher for my play.

So, who is it and what happened? You can keep reading to see the details ... and the ball in action.

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A name I didn't expect to see again in MLB arrived in Atlanta this month and that got me thinking about a stash of game-used baseballs I had picked up on the cheap long ago but hadn't yet posted about in this Collecting Game-used series.

I did some digging and, yep, that name was in there.

Robinson Cano is filling in at second base for the Braves right now after Ozzie Albies' foot injury has him out until optimistically late next month and he's that name. My find is nothing dramatic but it's a ball from a past game with him attached that was deep in my $10 stash -- yep, only $10 -- from awhile back, and it turned out it's a ball with a little surprise to it thanks to its MLB Authentication and clips one can see right now on the MLB Film Room.

You can keep reading to see the details ... and the ball in action.

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This ball isn't that ball ... but imagine if it was.

That was my first thought when I dug out this one from my reserves for this Collecting Game-used series last night as St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Miles Mikolas was two outs away from a career game -- a no-hitter that came up one strike short of reality -- Tuesday against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

My second thought was, man, how much has the game-used world changed in just a few years with a couple new touches from MLB and MLB Authentication? The MLB Film Room didn't exist back when this baseball was used -- details below -- and the notation on the authentication is pretty basic ... real basic. That's been improved since then, too. This is a game-used ball with some nice use to it (came from a grab-bag style box) and with a couple of MLB All-Stars attached from a game a little earlier in their careers. Since there was no Film Room then I can't instantly call up a clip of the play and see it in action ... though there's a chance the game is online somewhere. I've been spoiled being able to photo-match or at least see videos for almost every ball I've had here recently ... I'll let the basics tell the story on this one this time.

Keep reading to see the details.

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