Fast Five: MLB items fans should own (or beginners could use)

This one is a quick idea for a new department here on The Buzz ... Fast Five -- a quick list under a simple topic that might offer a basic starting point for a themed collection. It's a basic list of five items that could be fun for a starting collector or a new way to add to a stash that might already seemingly include everything when it comes to cardboard. For some of you, it's probably common sense. For others of you out there, it's something to think about.

This time? Five MLB items fans should own ... or beginners could use.

SOMETHING DIRTY...
Game-used and fully authenticated MLB dirt is seemingly everywhere and it's often not expensive at all -- yet I'd bet a lot of collectors who consider their stashes to be on the "serious" side don't have anything dirty in them at all. Dirt Relics have been in play in a few brands in the past with one of them being 2019 Topps Opening Day as you can see here. You can find sealed miniature bottles of MLB authenticated dirt from team sites on MLB.com, framed displays that include small capsules embedded into them and, yes, some baseball cards. Heck, I've even seen dirt loaded into writing pens tied to teams. Most of these items aren't aren't that expensive and you can pretty much collect authenticated dirt from all stadiums or even key events like World Series or All-Star Games if you hunt online. (MLB is big on dirt and using it.) You easily can start a small mystery box for your team's fan with something like this and add to it ... keep reading.

A SIGNED TOPPS CONTRACT ...
These aren't tough items and they are affordable -- heck, you can buy the one you can see here for an $11.95 Buy-It-Now straight from Topps via its ToppsVault on eBay. What is it? This is the one-page contract extension that Topps reps used to run around to get players sign on a regular basis when it came time to renew their basic deals. I'm sure these have gone the way of the PDF or fax machine these days, so the past supply is limited, but the Vault has been selling them regularly since it launched in 2001. Who might you look for? Perhaps a past player on your team or a renewal dated for your favorite year of set. But things I'd look for beyond the specific player? The secondary autograph. On this one, that's the signature of Sy Berger, who was key in the creation of the landmark 1952 Topps baseball card set, that adds some value in my mind. I'd also watch for autographed contracts for guys who may not have ever had a certified autograph card. Matt Mieske, for example, only had three and they were all in a single 1996 Leaf release. Would this be considered one of his only Topps "certified autos" out there?

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A GAME-USED LINEUP CARD
Prices on these can range dramatically depending on the team -- I've seen as low as $20 but they can be much higher if from a key game -- and there are typically as many as four used for every game played in MLB. These 11-by-17 cards on sturdy stock are posted in dugouts and in bullpens for each team. Sometimes they come signed, sometimes they don't. Sometimes they are entirely hand-written, sometimes they are not. Sometimes they come with a massive mess of ink as players come in and out of games -- not so much on this one -- but what you can do is selectively grab these based on what's shown on them. You can grab a card for your team, or one showing your favorite player(s) -- or maybe for a game you attended or a game where a guy homered or otherwise dominated. This year's edition of Topps Gypsy Queen will actually incorporate cuts from lineup cards into cards for the first time alongside players' autographs. I think those will be popular but I'd probably stick to a cheap MLB Authenticated one with a key player or game, myself. (I wouldn't buy them without the MLB sticker.)

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A GAME-USED BASEBALL ...
These can be found with full MLB authentication -- and more details than ever -- often for the price of a blaster box (or slightly more) for less-important balls up to hundreds or thousands if they are a key player hit or milestone moment. MLB teams use a ton of them and you can find them easily via MLB.com or MLB auctions with a number of teams allowing you to pick dates to ensure teams involved. Sometimes, the details can lead you to photo-match a ball to a play -- check out our Collecting Game-used series for some gems. If you're near a team, you should be able to find them in team shops and get a choice of whose names might be attached, too. These can offer some good use and grime at times, making for an interesting item, or sometimes they might not look heavily used at all. They're also pretty interesting for beginners and the details in the MLB authentication can help you collect with a theme, too -- hits, strikeouts, pitches in the dirt, foul balls, etc.

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AN IN-PERSON AUTOGRAPH ... 
Hit a game, a promotional signing or a card (or comics) show where there are guests and chase down your own 'graphs. The items from doing that will often be ones that you remember more fondly later when a player might be a star (or a bust) as part of their story is the hunt or the item's unique nature. I didn't have any of my past in-person ink scanned or photographed for baseball, but this is a piece that was a result of hounding of some type with the hunter landing Thomas Jane and Barry Pepper from 61* when they played Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris. This one was authenticated and then sold (to me). A smart item selection can make for a cool autographed item -- actors in movies, baseball players in movies, teammates, rivals -- and there are plenty of possibilities out there if you can come up with a theme or way to collect. If you're building a mystery box for somebody using these tips, perhaps throw in a ball, photo or other item along with some tickets with a note that says "let's go hunting."

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What would you want to see in a future Fast Five? Let Buzz know on Twitter or email.

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