Collecting Game-used: An out and a career first ... all in one

A career first ... that's simply hard to pass up no matter who it is.

My latest ball in this Collecting Game-used series is one I found on the cheap -- well, at least cheaper than some retail mega boxes out there and not much more than some game-used mystery boxes -- and it was used for three pitches in The Show ... one from a routine out and then two to a rookie playing in just his second game as a big-leaguer.

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

THE BASICS ...
Game-used ball (MLB Authenticated): Chicago White Sox vs. Houston Astros, March 31, 2023
Watch it in action: See both plays embedded below via the MLB Film Room. (I skipped the called strike ... but it can be seen here.)

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The matchup: Astros RP Phil Maton vs. White Sox C Yasmani Grandal and Maton vs. White Sox OF Oscar Colas
The result: Three pitches -- the end of one at-bat (ground ball to 2B Jeremy Peña to 1B Jose Abreu) and the start of another (called strike and then a HBP of Colas) as part of one inning for Mason in a 6-3 Astros win.

What's Buzz-worthy: This one comes from about a year ago -- just the second game of both teams' seasons -- and the second for Colas as a big-leaguer. He was a Cuban pro as a 17-year-old who then played to Japan for parts of three seasons, then defected and ended up with the White Sox organization in 2022. In two MiLB campaigns he hit .301 with 32 homers and 108 RBI in 171 games. Last season? Not so strong -- really his worst showing in any stretch anywhere, hitting just .216 with five homers and 19 RBI in 75 games -- but being a recognizable young name I couldn't pass up a first career HBP. (Plus, it's one of only two with the other one coming on Sept. 4 vs. the Royals.) The Peña and Abreu touches are nice here in the first clip and that ground ball up the middle off one side of the mound is probably where that good-looking splash of clay came to be on this ball -- that or when then ball smacked Colas in the elbow and then into the dirt and back to the pitcher after a 90-mph pitch. All in all, it's a simple ball but with some color ... and it's a first. Colas will start this season in MiLB but still could make his way back up depending on how thing go in Chicago.

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