Collecting Game-used: One ball, three no-nonsense pitches

As you probably know if you're a regular reader here, Buzz is a fan of the game-used bargain bin just as much as any other ... so this is a result of one of those digs.

This month's item in this Collecting Game-used series? Well, it's another $10 game-used baseball from a recent Philadelphia Phillies firesale -- and it's one with a likely future All-Star's name attached. That name is Dansby Swanson, the Atlanta Braves shortstop who's in the midst of a career year this summer with new highs in hits, doubles, homers and RBI with plenty of time left to play.

The ball? Well, you can keep reading to see the details and see it in action.

THE BASICS ...
Game-used ball (MLB Authenticated): Braves vs. Phillies, Sept. 9, 2019
Watch it in action: Right here for Pitch 1, Pitch 2 is above, Pitch 3 is here

The matchup: Braves SS Dansby Swanson vs. Phillies RP Edgar Garcia (eighth inning)
The result: Three pitches as part of a walk in a 7-2 Braves win

What's Buzz-worthy: This one is a pretty no-nonsense ball that's actually attached to three plays, not just the one (the final pitch) that I was led to believe based on its cube labeling by the Phillies. That play was the one that caked this one with dirt and took it out of play as you can see at the Pitch 3 link and in the gallery below. This ball comes from the first three pitches of a five-pitch walk -- the 21st career BB for the rookie reliever and the 158th of Swanson's career -- that's nothing too special other than you can see it in action on three plays from the MLB Film Room instead of one. I figured I'd trot this one out from what's left of my dirty dozen of $10 gamers I picked up with notable players attached as Swanson has been playing very well this year. This game did have a couple of notable home runs in it -- notable in that they were hit by popular and collected players -- Ronald Acuña Jr. hit his 64th career longball, while Josh Donaldson hit his 219th. This ball isn't used, of course, for either of those, but the extra same-game trivia is nice for the price. It's the kind of simple piece that could look good with a Swanson signature across the relatively clean sweet spot adjacent to some dirt from Citizens Bank Park.

>> 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