Jon Lester game used ball

In the last blog post, I wrote about my recent visit to Busch Stadium to watch the Cubs vs Cardinals. I wanted a relic from the game since as it was the first game my wife and I had attended together. I checked eBay but couldn’t find anything.

I looked on MLBshop at the Cubs section but they didn’t have anything from that game. I then checked out the Cardinals section and noticed an entry for $39.99 game used baseballs. I clicked on that and it gave me a list of dates from 2018. I found June 15, 2018 on the list and placed my order.

On Saturday, I received an email with the tracking number. I clicked on it to see when it would arrive and it said it had already been delivered. Huh? I opened the door and there sat the ball in a small box. I opened up the box and the ball was encased in a ball cube which was a nice touch.

There was a label on the case that listed the details of the ball. It was from the bottom of the first inning and was the first pitch to Harrison Bader from Jon Lester. At first I thought it meant the first pitch of the game for Lester, but then realized Bader was the second batter that Lester faced. (Matt Carpenter was the first batter.)

I looked up the authentication number online and found more information. It was a 91.3 mph four-seam fastball and was recorded as a ball.

I found a video to the game on YouTube which showed the pitch from Lester to Bader.

As you can see, the pitch was low and in the dirt. The catcher (Contreras) immediately handed it to the umpire and exchanged it for a new ball.

I’m really pumped that I have a game used ball from an actual game I attended. Now if I could figure out how to get Lester to sign it.