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.

Continue reading →

Big name, small price ... I couldn't pass on that.

My latest item in this Collecting Game-used series is a little different than a lot of my buys when it comes to MLB Authenticated baseballs. Most times, I go the mystery-box route on the cheap with key dates or certain teams with players I like or collect among the likely possibilities, but this one was a straight-up buy -- still on the cheap -- recently. Why? That's because it was used for a pair of pitches from a newcomer on a World Series winner to one of the biggest names in the game today.

The price? Less than a retail mega box of whatever new card brand you like -- a certainty with this item this time vs. playing the possibilities of what might from packs. The possibility will get me often, but this time a game-used future Hall of Famer in my stash here works just fine with That Mike Trout Guy attached. (He good.)

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

Continue reading →

With these Ticket Stud or Ticket Dud stories I'm turning just a tiny bit of that energy just a few degrees away from cards (we'll still have plenty of them here) for a different kind of cardboard. What am I doing? Simple ... this is an occasional dip into some random ticket lots -- a show and tell showing something small with a story.

This time? A Hall of Famer on the ticket -- and a pair of MLB debuts in the box score.

Keep reading to see the details this time ... and tell me if you think it's a Ticket Stud or a Ticket Dud.

Continue reading →