This week in overpriced, obscure Blue Jays memorabilia

I have a confession to make. I have a penchant for obscure Blue Jays memorabilia. If you read my article from last year about how I bought a bottle of game-used dirt from the Rogers Centre, you might suspect that I have a few screws loose.

I also bought a Blue Jays “Fan in a Can” after I read Rachael McDaniel’s piece on BP Toronto a few years ago about weird Blue Jays Christmas gifts. So yeah, I’m an impulse Blue Jays souveneir buyer.

Every so often, you might get the emails from the team featuring authentic game-used merchandise for sale. (The game-used dirt was listed there once, by the way). Occasionally, I’ll browse the items just to see what kind of weird stuff is for sale and how astronomical some of the prices are.

If you visited the Blue Jays MLB Auction site this week, you’re in for a few treats. Here’s just a summary of some of the overpriced, oscure Blue Jays memorabilia you can get your hands on. Remember, you only have until Sunday to place your bid on these authentic items.

 

As of this moment, the most expensive item listed on the Blue Jays Auction site is a game-used ball off the bat of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. It has the distinction of being his 20th career hit and came during the game when he hit his first career home run at the Rogers Centre.

But it’s currently listed at a whopping $1,020 CAD. If you’re forking out that kind of cash, wouldn’t you want something a little more prestigious than a single off Rick Porcello?

 

This base has the distinction of being used during the 2019 Blue Jays Home Opener from innings seven to nine. This, of course, was the same game where Jordan Zimmerman and Marcus Stroman both carried perfect games into the sixth inning.

Stroman’s perfect game was broken up in the top of the sixth and Zimmerman’s perfect game was broken up in the bottom of the seventh inning. The Blue Jays combined for two hits and one walk that game, reaching base a grand total of three times on Opening Day.

All three … THREE baserunners the Blue Jays had that day touched this very base. Considering how anaemic the Blue Jays’ offense has performed this season, this base is indeed a very rare artifact.

 

Why have a game-used ball from a hit by a Blue Jays player when you can own a piece of history from a former division rival? This game-used ball off the bat of Manny Machado came during Cavan Biggio’s MLB debut on May 24th.

This particular baseball has nothing to do whatsoever with Biggio, but at least it was within the same ballpark as Biggio during this single.

 

To date, Edwin Jackson has allowed 40 hits and struck out 15 batters, leaving him with a WHIP of 2.02. Wouldn’t you want to own one of the 15 strikeouts that the career journeyman recorded this season? Given his poor performance as of late, now’s the time to jump on a piece of memorabilia like this, because there’s no telling when he might get designated for assignment.

 

To me, this is the prized piece of this whole lot. Having a game-used ball from one of Luke Maile’s magical pitching appearances is something to brag about to your friends. Not only did Maile use this ball to strike out Hunter Renfroe, it was also used during Ty France’s single and it was the same ball that Maile plunked Wil Myers with.

If you’re going to lay down a few hundred bucks for a piece of history, without question, this is the best use of your money. At the end of the year, when we’re reflecting on the best moments of the 2019 season, it won’t be Vladdy’s singles or Jackson’s strikeouts, it will unquestionably be one of Maile’s many mop-up pitching performances.

The ball itself looks pretty scuffed up, which for my money, warrants some of the value here. If a baseball looks a little weathered, that somewhat justifies spending $150 on this baseball. Incredibly, nobody has offered a bid on this item yet. So if you don’t buy it, I just might.