A short history on why we don't prefer collecting baseballs

[Swoboda4]

Collecting postseason baseballs are currently the thing among wealthy fans and some collectors. I'm guilty of going after one after collecting three from the regular season. I soon realized though that collecting more than a few will soon start you on the road to having a lot of baseballs that look basically alike.

[Juicyfruit66]

I bought one from the first game I ever took my boy to, but other than that I'd rather spend the money on bats...not only do they look different , they actually belonged to the player

[Juicyfruit66]

Pitch in the dirt

[metsbats]

I am still going to argue that no two baseballs will look alike. The three balls in your photo Robert clearly prove this. And each one is significant due to what resulted after putting it in play.

[sctizzle]

I agree that no 2 will look exactly the same and while they are close in resemblance the uniqueness of the specific play create a great keepsake. Mlb has done a very good job in the process and while mistakes happen, it is not often and usually it's something simple like a scoring change took place and the ball was mislabeled or a pitch in the dirt was labeled as a foul to the screen or vice versa.

I have a display case in my sons room that to me is very unique and might be one of a kind based on what I did. There were 15 games played the day he was born--I have one authenticated game used ball from each of those games as well as opening day, Mother's Day, all star, futures star, home run derby, post season and now World Series. To top it off, a family friend had a player sign a ball and date it the day he was born. I love the display and although it's just 21 baseballs that might look the same other than the ones with different logos, as David said, each one tells a story and they all tell the story of the day and year my son was born.

The casual fan at a game would much rather get a game used baseball than a jersey or bat. Baseballs are usually much more affordable and easier for someone to display. Obviously game used collectors would much rather bats, jerseys, etc. but being able to own something specific to a certain play at a game appeals to many more fans.

Scott

[Swoboda4]

Scott, great idea and my son is the reason I pursued the Syndergaard game three ball. David I agree with your points. Maybe its too early to come to this conclusion but the hologram on baseballs has been around a number of years and I was heading to how little game used baseballs come up for everyday discussion prior to the postseason. They seem to be the item of choice of high bidding fans for the reasons you gave. But if you have a lot of G/U baseballs (think Ball Hawk in a tub full of them) unless you individually (or in Scott's case collectively for a great single reason) display a baseball (Im thinking of framing the WS game 3 ball w/ Syndergaard photo I took) you run the risk of having to get a magnifying glass to check the hologram number-like I had to do before putting the six photos together-and then saying, "Oh yea, this is the ball.....".

[coxfan]

One advantage to balls over other game-used items is they take less space. My wife and I live in a condo that's greatly located: Right by a large university with a strong athletic program; three blocks from our State Capitol; walking distance from four museums, etc. But the condo's small, so space management is a big deal for us. Especially since we have over 1600 books, etc. Balls can be placed on the edge of bookshelves.

Plus, I don't mainly intend to display the balls, but rather to treat them as artifacts of significant events. I make out an index card on each ball, giving its aignificance (eg contributing to a division title, or helping to set a record). And I have a few from personal events, such as the birthdates of three of my grandsons. I don't have to look frequently at displayed balls to enjoy them, any more than I have to open books frequently to appreciate having rhem in my collection.

[helf35]

I got into strike out baseballs for Chris Sale and any game he breaks a record or hits a milestone. It lets me still collect without breaking the bank. At his pace jerseys were getting to out of hand for me plus I just don't have the room. That being said I will always prefer bats.

[brianborsch]

I def hear you on them looking similar but I agree that it is more meaningful to me to have the baseball as an artifact from a significant event. I like collecting the GU hit baseballs more than bats.

[danesei@yahoo.com]

The downside to balls (for me) is they seem to get mold/dust easily. I might start string them in my wine chiller, just to normalize the humidity.