Collecting Game-used: A top name ... a pitch away from pain

A good rookie, a good at-bat, a good ball ... that was one pitch away from history.

This month's entry in the Collecting Game-used series is another that came to me via a blind grab bag where all I knew was the date of the game ... and yet this was another win. The player? Jackson Merrill, the runner-up in the National League Rookie Of The Year behind winner Paul Skenes, and a name I didn't expect to land for a price lower than many a retail mega box of cards.

And, to top it all off, this wasn't some meaningless ball in the dirt or a ball just watched -- well, it kind of was -- it was something more for a low price and that's perfect. It's kind of how I roll most of the time with these items.

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

THE BASICS ...
Game-used ball (MLB Authenticated): San Diego Padres at Philadelphia Phillies -- June 19, 2024
Watch it in action: Four pitches -- see the first three via the MLB Film Room here -- and the one that made contact is embedded below.

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The matchup: Phillies RP Orion Kerkering vs. Padres OF Jackson Merrill in the seventh inning of a 5-2 San Diego victory.
The results: Three no-contact pitches -- a whiff and two called balls -- before a foul that took this ball out of action ... before Merrill received his first career HBP with the next pitch.

What's Buzz-worthy: This one is a win for a grab bag with a pair of rookies facing off and the result for this ball with a four-pitch life being a foul ... albeit not much contact off of a big swing from the rookie who hit .292 with 24 homers and 90 RBI in 156 games for the NL Wild Card winners. Earlier in this game, Merrill smacked his eighth homer of his career -- that off Phillies starter Ranger Suarez -- and he finished the day at 2-for-3 with an RBI two runs scored. (Kerkering took the loss, which was the first of his career.) While the top rookie Skenes' overall volume of used baseballs could be higher -- more used but in fewer games -- those command a meaty premium price (around 10x this) from Fanatics for his games while this one, a ball that made contact, only needed a Ulysses S. Grant appearance after shipping. It's pretty clean but does have some logo scuffing and dirt from Citizens Bank Park ... so it's a win in more ways than one.

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

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