Collecting Game-used: A piece of Big Dumper's 60-HR year II

This one is definitely Dumper déjà vu.

Just like last time, Buzz had a hunch, cross-checked the schedule and ... won. My second ball this month 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 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. (Twice.)

Just like last time, this wasn't just some ball used during one of the 159 games Big Dumper merely played this season -- it's from the game where he launched his 16th homer of his historic campaign and Raleigh handled the ball during the lone play of its life in The Show.

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

THE BASICS ...
Game-used ball (MLB Authenticated): Seattle Mariners at Chicago White Sox -- May 21, 2025
Watch it in action: A single pitch -- see it via the MLB Film Room here or embedded below.

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The matchup: Mariners rookie SP Logan Evans vs. White Sox C Matt Thaiss in the fourth inning of a 6-5 Seattle victory.
The results: A changeup in the dirt handled by Mariners C Cal Raleigh as part of an AB that ended with a Thaiss single

What's Buzz-worthy: My breakdown here is similar to last time as the facts of the game haven't changed. ... The Sox are one of several teams that pre-sells baseballs by date during the season and the listings on their MLB Auctions page stay there as long as the baseballs are in stock. On a hunch, I cross-checked Raleigh's home run log to the team listings and this was the lone Seattle opponent that still had baseballs in stock for a game where Big Dumper went yard in his a record-setting season for a Mariner (better than That Griffey Guy ever did) and for any catcher in MLB history. While Raleigh came up just short of the American League record, I knew I'd want to get a piece of this season just because ... so I rolled the dice. I figured there would be a 50-50 shot -- at worst -- of landing a baseball touched by him during the game with him being a catcher and I figured the home team may not care as much about stuff not hit by, or a highlight for, their squad. In this case, just like last time, it didn't initially register that this could be a Raleigh-used ball (he's not noted on the authentication info) but, yep, he's right there in the video picking this one out of the dirt -- and that same dirt resides on this ball today. In addition to Dumper trivia, this ball is from just the fifth start of Evans' career and he set a career-high (so far as it still stands) with seven strikeouts in a no-decision. For Thaiss, this was his 34th game with the Sox and he only played one more after it as he was traded to the Rays six days later for minor-leaguer Dru Baker. ... The only number that matters in this game for this ball to me, though, is that it's from one of the 60-homer games for Big Dumper -- and I got it at a low price letting me collect other stuff, too.

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>> See all past Collecting Game-used stories from Buzz here

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