It's a day on the calendar that's always going to be remembered ... but this is not really tied to that. This one's simply from MLB action two years ago today.

This month's ball in the Collecting Game-used series is another that came to me via a grab bag where all I knew was the date of the game -- and I actually chose this date due to the visiting team, the Atlanta Braves, which I kind of casually collect on the game-used front. This was from the first game of a doubleheader between the two National League powerhouses and it was handled by a pair of All-Stars for its one-pitch lifetime in The Show.

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

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Dad grabbed a home run ball for his son, she wanted it back ... and now BlowoutCards.com needs it.

We'll offer $5,000 for that baseball right here, right now ... but there is a catch.

We want that ball signed and inscribed by her -- and only her, whoever she is -- "I'm sorry" so we can simply give it back to the kid. Our offer is official and the offer is firm -- here's our tweet noting it all and making the offer public.

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It's a ball that had a short life in The Show, but the one bit of contact was worth it.

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 -- that's pretty much my bargain-bin way of hunting these days -- and yet this was another win. The star player this time? Current New York Yankees ace Max Fried -- though this one from before he put on those pinstripes and is from a game from last season.

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

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Elly De La Cruz. That was a name I'd hope for -- but never expect -- from the mystery bargain bin ... but here we are.

This month's ball in the Collecting Game-used series is another from a $30 blind grab-bag kind -- picking only from the known date and teams -- and while I totally did not know it was Pup Night at PNC Park (see the gallery) I did know that both squads have some young notables in play in 2024. There's no Paul Skenes action on this day, of course, as he pitched the day before this one but I knew there would be potential for a price that's close to as cheap as it gets for a game-used baseball.

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

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This is quite possibly my best grab-bag buy ever.

This latest ball in the Collecting Game-used series is one where there's a franchise icon attached, an entire at-bat and even an impressive hit all in one. I can't say that I've ever landed that from what's essentially a blind grab-bag kind of buy, but that happened for me with a ball that was pulled from the field less than two months ago before making its way into my collection this week for just $29.95 -- substantially less than a Chrome blaster box out there in the retail wild and perhaps substantially less than it might cost as a known hit ball with the big name attached. The only thing I had a choice in here? I picked the date -- so I knew the two teams that would be attached and that's it.

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

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Four bounces and then a short roll ... and then it just sits there.

Spoiler alert: That's the "action" sequence for this latest ball in the Collecting Game-used series but for a random grab-bag ball -- one picked only by its game date -- this one stands out from the pack to a degree. Why? It's got a modest bit of scarring from what it hit off the bat of an All-Star caliber player and it's got a blooper-caliber whimsy to it all, too, with a sequence in a pandemic-era stadium that's quiet enough for you to also hear it all and notice that there are no background reactions at all, either, save for an ump giving it a brief glance.

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

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The life of this fully authenticated game-used MLB ball isn't all that impressive -- I liked it for a team clearance $10 pick-up, though given player names attached -- but the reason you see it here for this month's Collecting Game-used series item is that it's an example of how something launched online last fall might spark more interest in game-used memorabilia.

Thanks to the MLB Film Room, you can find countless memorable (and many forgettable) video clips of plays from past games all in database form. You can search by names, players, teams, plays, etc., and to a degree that should add some interest to game-used pieces like this ball ... and maybe some value beyond the authentication statements that are also in a database with every ball.

You can keep reading to see the details ... and the ball in action.

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It's been more than a month since the Houston Astros won the World Series but the action is still relatively intense over on MLB Auctions.

Or at least some of the bidding and instant-purchase prices look that way.

Dugout lineup cards for Games 5-7 are up for auction at the moment via the site and end in three days. Game 7 leads the way at $911 after 18 bids, while Game 5 is $810 after 14 bids and Game 6 sits at $520 after just two.

Those have nothing on some of the other game-used items, though.

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