Collecting Game-used: Red Sox mystery box yields ... mystery

As said last month, not all game-used baseballs are the same, despite the fact that they're all a pair of leather panels with 108 stitches holding it all together.

And this one is not like last month's ball at all.

This one arrived via a Boston Red Sox mystery box over on MLBShop.com with the only guarantees that this one would be MLB Authenticated and could be from any time between 2013 and 2017 -- that first season being one where the Sox won the World Series.

You can keep reading to see the details ...

THE BASICS ...
Game-used baseball (MLB Authenticated): Texas Rangers vs. Boston Red Sox, May 24, 2017
Watch it in action: Nope, not this time.

The matchup: Unknown ... but this game was Sam Travis' MLB debut.
The result: Unknown

What's Buzz-worthy: This one was the cheapest game-used option on that site and I didn't think I had a baseball from the Sox, so I bit. (A long-term but still casual goal of mine is to have a game ball attached to every team.) What I got remains a mystery as this ball is not noted as being from any specific play during the game, though it has a nice chunk of Fenway Park clay on it and possibly some red from a wall or other surface. The game was an action-packed one that night -- a 9-4 win for Chris Sale, the 79th of his career and fifth with his new team, thanks to a seven-run seventh inning from his Sox. The only homer in the game was from former Sox star Mike Napoli but Mookie Betts had two hits and two RBI, while Dustin Pedroia, Andrew Benintendi and others got in on the action. I even got a player with school ties doing a little something something in the game, but all I know here is I now own a ball with some Fenway Park dirt. This could be from a play, a hit or even a foul ball -- it's all possible but unknown and it can't be stickered as anything but what it's absolutely known to be. It's also possible this was merely a warm-up ball, too, but the line impression across one panel looks like possible netting and it ends with the mud/red blotch. That makes me me lean toward some type of foul ball, though we'll likely never know for sure. (The Ultra Pro case seen here also came with the ball, though I'm definitely a BallQube guy for game-used.) Interestingly, the only other ball I've ever landed like this one -- no details in the authentication -- came from the Yankees via Steiner, though that one was definitely just prepped for play and had no wear or stains/extra dirt. (I have been told that the Cubs also use the non-detailed balls for mystery sales.) The amount of detail and specific plays now attributed to many MLB Authenticated balls have spoiled me -- and those are definitely preferred over anonymous balls, though the stain here is nice.

Update: I'm told by experienced game-used collector @mattsaltzman on Twitter that the Red Sox home balls never have details. Your best bet for Red Sox baseballs with details are from road games.

Product Grade: C (good price, but an anonymous ball in this era is a bummer)
Box Grade: B- (see above ... at least the dirt helps)
Fun Grade: C (see above)

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

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