Collecting Game-used: A historic first in a top rookie's career

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.

Atlanta Braves rookie Michael Harris II's first career HBP as captured in this image from Getty's publicly available preview site.

THE BASICS ...
Game-used ball (MLB Authenticated): San Francisco Giants vs. Atlanta Braves -- June 21, 2022 (A 12-10 Giants victory.)
Watch it in action: Right here for the HBP ... and here for previous pitch where this ball came out of ump's bag

The matchup: Braves OF Michael Harris II vs. Giants RP Zack Littell
The result: First HBP of Harris' career.

What's Buzz-worthy: A number of my baseballs in this series are bargain-bin finds -- I don't mind them as I collect with some volume -- but this one being a historic first made its price well worth it in my eyes as Harris has been a spark plug for the defending World Series champions this season. Where did I find it? Directly from the Braves and as you can see above it was a moment captured by a Getty photographer at the game (though it was a ball that hit him in the foot and then bounced up, not a beanball to the elbow). There's a chance that some of this ball's color could be off his cleat as it hit there (and the color matches ... see below) before ricocheting over to the third-base side of the field, though the tiny speck of grass in the seams also means it could have been used at a different time before this but never taken totally out of play. The final play here is the authenticated one and the pitches listed before that are unlikely to be accurate as that previous-pitch video ends at the exact time this one is introduced. However, the ball stickered before this one was an Austin Riley hit. Meanwhile, Harris, who went 1-for-3 in this game, scored on the next at-bat when Ronald Acuña Jr. homered. That ball got the sticker number after this one, according to the MLBA info. Harris has only been hit by a pitch two other times this season -- the newest just last week -- but mine will always be the first.

>> See all past Collecting Game-used stories from Buzz here

--

Follow Buzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz or send email to BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com. 

>> Click here to buy baseball cards on BlowoutCards.com