Buzz had a hunch, cross-checked the schedule and ... won again.

This month's ball in the Collecting Game-used series is another that simply came to me via a grab bag where all I knew was the date of the game -- and I specifically chose a game between the Seattle Mariners and Chicago White Sox back in May because of something that happened on this day this season. For just $35 (shipped), I added a game-used piece of Cal Raleigh's 60-homer campaign to my collection and the team may not have even realized it. In fact, I did this twice ... so there will be a sequel to this in a future post.

This wasn't just some ball used during one of the 159 games Big Dumper played this season -- it's from the game where he launched his 16th homer of his historic campaign and Raleigh handled the ball on all but one of its plays during its life in The Show.

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

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Sometimes, you just have to check the calendar.

This month's entry in the Collecting Game-used series is tied to a big name's first week in The Show -- you already know that seeing that headline -- but you may not know how easily this game-used baseball was landed. All this collector had to do was look at the schedule and then check the Chicago White Sox MLB Auctions store and pre-order a ball from that day. They're long gone now, but this ball is from just the fourth career game for Kansas City Royals rookie slugger Jac Caglianone and his first against an American League opponent after he opened his career in St. Louis three days earlier. Now, I knew the odds were likely low -- 0r, realistically, slim to none -- for landing a pitch to him or play involving him, but the price was still pretty modest at $45 ($15 of that is shipping) to take a shot. This one? It turned out to be a pretty interesting ball for a full, but not completed, plate appearance with a different player's MLB debut coming on this day, too.

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

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing: The Rookie Card definition continues to bemuse and befuddle, World Series chatter, good interactions with MLB players and more in this all-baseball edition.

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Update: The auctions close at 5 p.m. today with the break tonight.

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Cheap Fun Breaks is teaming up with MLB Auctions for a charity break during a game this Wednesday.

Up for grabs is a box of the high-end 2022 Topps Definitive Collection baseball cards and BlowoutTV's Houdini will handle the break during the Mariners-Angels game with bidding closing at 5 p.m. The break will take place during the YouTube Alt Cast of the game (at this link) during the seventh inning and will benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The game is scheduled for a 4:07 start.

This one will be a spot break, so all auction winners get one card from the pricey box of cards that's loaded with six autographed cards and two Relic cards.

MLB will match the closing auction price for each of the eight auctions, which are live now. Bidding on each spot opens at $150.

To learn more about 2022 Topps Definitive Collection, see the First Buzz preview for the set right here.

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Follow Buzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz or send email to BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com. 

>> Click here to buy cards on BlowoutCards.com

From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The item: Cincinnati Reds Authentics mystery memorabilia bag
Where to buy: A past weekend deal via Reds Authentics ... BlowoutCards.com for MLB releases

Keep reading for a full breakdown and a gallery for this one.

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Monster season, monster ball.

The baseball that New York Mets rookie Pete Alonso hit for his record-tying 52nd home run this season sold for five figures via MLB Auctions on Sunday.

How much? A cool $27,690 (with $15 more for shipping, of course) after 86 bids in the auction that began on Oct. 2.

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Spring training items can be The Forgotten Ones when it comes to game-used stuff like jerseys, scorecards and bases. The jerseys can sometimes have numbers we don't associate with big names later (Do they count? Some say no.), while the scorecards can be messes of ink that kill all the fun details as the entire young roster gets to play while the stars are riding pine or not traveling at all. (Then there are the dreaded split-squad games ... don't get Buzz started there.)

But game-used bases? Well, they often don't get as much love as they do in-season, but they also might get used longer than the typical three-inning lifetime that's the norm for teams that sell them -- sometimes bringing them directly to fans' seats after they are bought in-game. That can mean you get more dirt, more grime and more moments attached to your game-used piece.

The base you see here? It's my first and it caught my attention mostly because of its price -- spring gamers can be cheaper, too -- but a glance at the box score and one player's game log made this one a no-brainer buy.

Keep reading to see the details ...

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Even before last night's MLB All-Star Home Run Derby was over, the gems were on the block via MLB Auctions. 

This pink and white bonus ball? It was the final one that Bryce Harper smacked out of Nationals Park Monday night in Washington, D.C., to win the whole thing.

After 31 bids, it sits at $1,970 with more than six days remaining in the auction -- and it's not alone on the block as there are more than 100 auctions from this week's events already live and there are probably even more to come.

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If you can't swing a Shohei Ohtani 2018 Bowman Chrome autograph at their current auction prices, there might be some game-used items of his over on MLB Auctions to add to your collection.

The Los Angeles Angels charity auction running now includes three game-used pieces and a locker-room item from the rookie's first spring training and regular season.

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Do you like Buzz Breaks? Today's your day then as we launch 12 in 12 -- a series of a dozen breaks of wax boxes and wax packs in a dozen hours. We'll post one every hour all day long ... this is Hour 1.

The box: Arizona Diamondbacks Authentics Mystery Cap Box
The cost: $30 (via MLB Auctions)

What's inside this one? Keep reading ...

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Major League Baseball will have its players wear Stoneman Douglas caps today to help raise funds for victims of last week's school shooting in Florida.

The caps will be worn, signed and auctioned to benefit a victim's fund.

Among them will be Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo -- a 2007 graduate of the school -- and the tributes will also be part of Topps Now cardboard now available.

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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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The Chicago Cubs may not be playing right now, but the memories of last season's historic World Series win are still fueling demand for unique pieces of memorabilia.

And it might not get more unique than an MLB-authenticated piece of the famed ivy from Wrigley Field.

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A selection of colorful and nickname-adorned game-used jerseys from MLB Players Weekend are winding down on the auction block via MLB Auctions and you totally won't be surprised to see who's leading the way.

All Rise ... it's New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge. 

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Game-used memorabilia from this year's All-Star festivities will be hitting the auction block via MLB Auctions this week and the stars of the All-Star Futures Game are batting lead-off.

Game-used batting helmets, game-used baseballs, game-used caps, used batting practice jerseys and a game-used base are already up for grabs from the prospect showcase that the United States won, 7-6, over the World squad on Sunday evening.

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Sometimes there pieces of game-used baseball memorabilia that don't get stashed away as museum-caliber items in private collections or chopped up to make memorabilia cards for our packs of cards.

Poke around online and you can find plaques and other unusual -- but usable -- items that include game-used. Wallets and coasters, for example, have been made with gamer material as part of the mix, but just like cards those novelties that have recently gone high-end and the bat knob you see here is proof.

What is it?

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A series of charity auctions during the MLB Winter Meetings will raise money for a New Jersey youth baseball field in memory of former New York Mets public relations executive Shannon Forde and one will give a card collector a big, memorable moment.

One of the Arizona Diamondbacks' auctions among more than 80 active as part of the Play Ball initiative will give the winner a chance to meet someone legendary in the history of baseball cards.

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It seems dirt is everywhere you look if you're a baseball collector shopping the game-used sections of websites and MLB Auctions.

You can buy game-used baseballs that were a pitch in the dirt. You can buy dirt holiday ornaments and dirt keychains. You can buy simple vials of dirt with labels noting the stadium. You can buy dirt coasters. You can buy framed game-used displays that include a dirt capsule along with other pieces. You can buy simpler (and cheaper) no-frills items that showcase dirt. The best pieces, of course, are dirt-covered game-used uniforms.

But that's not all -- at least if you're a fan of two teams. It's time for something really different there.

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Somebody is going to pay dearly for this managerial meltdown.

The sweatshirt and cap worn by Detroit Tigers manager Brad Ausmus on Monday night have hit the auction block via MLB Auctions to benefit the Tiny Tigers tee-ball program funded by the Detroit Tigers Foundation.

And, so far, it looks this one will pay for a few extra tees.

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A pair of guitars are heating things up on the auction block -- but not where you might expect.

They can be found on MLB Auctions.

One of the headlines from Friday read, "Metallica serenades Willie Mays during San Francisco Giants' 4th-annual Metallica Night" -- an event where members of the Bay Area band played "Happy Birthday" for Mays (he turned 85 yesterday) and played the national anthem before the game. Their equipment from that night is being auctioned for charity.

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One of the biggest moments of the Chicago Cubs' season will hopefully make a big impact for the team's charities.

How?

A number of game-used items from Jake Arrieta's no-hitter on April 21 are currently on the auction block via MLB.com to benefit Cubs Charities.

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It's a dirty job, but MLB's got to do it.

Fans of World Series teams and All-Star Game hosts in recent years can remember their big events with game-used dirt jars that can be found via buy-it-now listings MLB Auctions.

Sure, they are novelty items -- but for casual collectors these small items will stand out as something both unique and affordable.

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Buzz thought he had seen it all when it came to game-used memorabilia until he visited MLB Auctions on Sunday night to find this.

It's a snack container straight from the dugout of the Detroit Tigers this past season and it can be all yours.

How much? We'll get to that ... but first the details.

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Game-used collecting has changed immensely in the last 20 years or so with the memorabilia card -- you know, those little swatches embedded into cards that can still get us going if it's the right player or an impressively designed piece of cardboard.

Relics may not always be expensive these days, but they can add some definite variety and surprise into packs of cards -- and partly because of the need for game-used items for cards it seems memorabilia has become more available than ever.

It's not always expensive. In fact, it can be downright enticing to chase jerseys of players who you might not see all that often on cardboard (or even like!) simply because there are game-used bargains to be found.

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A series of auctions began Sunday via Major League Baseball will help fight cancer while offering the winning bidders the chances to make memories instead of merely adding memorabilia to their collections while helping a cause.

More than 80 listings launched by MLB Auctions will benefit Stand Up To Cancer as well as charities noted by individual teams. Several teams have a few listings noted as part of the program.

What will you get to do as a winner? Well ...

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