Major League Baseball’s 2026 Opening Day is less than 10 days away. For us at OfficialGameBalls.com, a new MLB season means a new year full of potential collectibles to commemorate special events, celebrations, anniversaries and other milestones.
If this new season is anything like 2025 and 2024, we’re about to be swamped with dozens of new commemorative baseballs and many cool new logos. I would expect some pretty special patriotic tie-ins for America’s 250th Anniversary, too. We’ve shared plenty of potential 2026 special events and new game balls. And we’ll refocus on 2026 and new commemorative balls soon enough. But for now, we’re still in off-season mode, and everyone is still enthralled with the 2026 World Baseballs Classic. Besides, we’ve still got plenty to recap from 2025.
So that’s all just a roundabout way to present: Part 2 of the 2025 Official Game Balls Recap Series!
SECTION 1: Ultra-Rare Vintage Discoveries
In 2025, we had the fortune of finding many Rawlings ROMLB commemorative-stamped baseballs that were new to the Official Game Balls, or at least to my personal collection. It’s worth your time to scroll all the way through this one; there were a lot of great discoveries you may want to add to your needs list. And soon, hopefully, Part 3 will be ready. Perhaps by MLB Opening Night on Wednesday, March 25, when the Giants host the Yankees at Oracle Park.
Like Part 1, we’ve uncovered more amazing oddballs and obscure, perhaps totally unknown baseballs. It always impresses me that in this website’s nearly 20-year existence, we’re still discovering new MLB baseballs that we’d never heard about.
First, the 1990 MLB HOF Game Ball, pictured here, which is just a ho hum Rawlings National League Ball with an added HOF Game and date stamped on the sweet spot. Sure looks game-used.
I came across my first Hall of Fame Game official Game ball, the 2000 HOF Game edition, maybe 20 years ago. I had hoped every season had its own special HOF Game logo baseball. That would give us plenty to track down. But after years passed with very few popping up, I began losing hope and all but abandoned that mission. And since the game ceased existence after 2008, there was little to look forward too.
Well, three more have come my way in recent years, including this 1990, and now I’m obsessed with them once again.
So this first find may not look that thrilling, but it was still a tough nut to crack; and I wanted break this story in slowly. I promise the next one is something to behold! The third one will have to wait until our 2026 recap, next spring.
For truly obsessed commemorative baseball collectors like us, the biggest adrenaline come from unearthing ultra-rare gems from seasons past. It’s these first-time discoveries of older commemorative game balls that seem to appear out of nowhere. The ones we never knew existed until they fall into our lap.
This spectacular 1996 MLB Hall of Fame Game Ball is a perfect example!
How about that big, fat, bold red (white) and blue commemorative logo? Hooray for multicolor-stamped commemoratives!
They sure don’t make them like they used to. It’s clearly mud-rubbed and likely game-used. I almost can’t believe these would have been used in a real life MLB game.
The Aug. 5th 1996 matchup at Double Day Field in Cooperstown, NY was the 50th MLB Hall of Fame Game. That milestone might have something to do with this amazing commemorative. The game featured the defunct Montreal Expos and the California Angels (AKA Anaheim/LA Angels). And it ended in a 6-6 tie. Weird! You can find many of the MLB HOF balls at the bottom of this MLB League-Wide Event Baseballs gallery. Got any we’re missing? Please reach out to us!
Next, a white whale of sorts. The 1992 Rawlings NL St. Louis Cardinals 100th Anniversary Baseball!
You’re probably familiar with the red commemorative logo variant. As rare as that one was, it was a special giveaway for season ticket holders and thousands were made. They can be found every year on eBay.
This black-ink variant is much more scarce. These were extremely limited, not sold or gifted, and according to trusted Cardinals fans who were in attendance, they were used in a few regular season games in 1992. That means it’s an official on-field gamer! We had debated that fact for ages, but I feel confident about that now.
We’ve only seen a few of these, and most were team-signed or multi-signed. So this near mint, unused specimen was a heck of a find!
Moving on: Here’s one of my all-time favorites, but with a little twist. The 1999 Rawlings NL San Fransisco Giants Candlestick Park Final Series – Tell It Goodbye. The ball on the right I’ve had for 20 years; I’ve included it for comparison’s sake. The ball on the left is the new addition. Can you see the difference? Hint: it’s not a logo design difference like on those cool prototype versions you’ll find in our Museum of Baseballs MLB Prototypes, Samples & Misprints gallery. It’s in the official LEAGUE™ panel stamp. I have no idea why they made this slight stamp variation. And I’m not sure if both versions were used or only one. More investigation is needed!
SECTION 2: Modern Day Gems and a Double Grail
One again: Just when you thought you’ve found everything, bam—a rumor of something previously undiscovered circulates. An obscure ball from the past might be out there waiting to be found, and the hunt begins again.
From out of left field, we’ve discovered a “new”, but old, “gold” home run derby ball. Presenting the Rawlings 2004 MLB All-Star Home Run Derby Gold Baseball!
If you’re not aware, gold HRD baseballs weren’t a thing until the 2005 Midsummer Classic in Detroit… or so we thought. But these crazy looking baseball actually preceded them. And we found one last year!
This 2004 baseball features a full gold-dyed leather cover and red ink stamping. Amazing! Quite different than the common gold bonus balls from 2005–2015 which have one properly treated yellow-gold panel and one traditional white leather panel.
Apparently some of these gold-dyed bonus balls were used in the 2004 Home Run Derby at Houston’s Minute Maid (now Daikin) Park. We were first tipped off about a 2004 prototype gold ball that might exist, but not an official on-field “gamer” that may have been used in the derby. And out of thin air, this beauty surfaced on eBay!
So, these should probably be considered the first ever run of MLB Gold Bonus Balls / MoneyBalls used in the bigs, right? For any doubters, the example pictured above is MLB Authenticated and autographed by derby participant, Houston Astros All-Star Lance Berkman. Last note: Consider these baseballs to be extremely rare, right up there with the 1998 and 1999 HR Derby balls. And likely even fewer produced or circulated based on our experience. What’s next…
These two baseballs would be great additions for most collectors, but not quite in the ultra-rare department. The 2006 Busch Stadium Inaugural Game is certainly a hell of a catch, and a great logo. But they exist and surface more than once in a while, though usually signed. Pricey too! And the 2016 New York Mets Mike Pizza Jersey Number Retirement is also rare, but not impossible. I had never owned one until I snagged this one late last year. So they easily make the cut for some of the site’s best 2025 additions. But my favorite 2025 pickup(s) await…
This next 2025 addition instantly became one of the favorites in my collection, though perhaps a little bitter sweet. Let me explain. This baseball was a true white whale; my holy grail if I ever had one. Very few have been seen in my 30+ years of dedicated baseball collecting. It always eluded me. The few that hit public sales sites escaped me or were painfully expensive.
Then, last year, a hero in San Diego emerged and generously heeded my request. This baseball completed a seemingly lifelong search. It also completed my original mission which began in the 1990s: to own every Rawlings on-field MLB game ball used in official regulation MLB games (at least to the best of my knowledge). And would you believe, after all those years of searching and striking out, I found 2 at once? And they’re both gem-mint pearls?! That’s just silly awesome good luck.
Reminder of the first rule of official game ball collecting: Why buy just one when you can have two at twice the price?
–me
Behold! The 2003 Rawlings San Diego Padres Qualcomm Stadium Final Game, “SAY GOODBYE TO THE Q” Baseball. Times two.
What an unbelievable logo! Just take a moment to digest that design man. It’s a giant cookie-cutter, multi-purpose stadium centering the design, with big spiral ramps! And matching palm trees! Symmetry is sacred… zen-like. That ‘too-cool-to-care’ lowercase Padres wordmark? The ‘Q’ nickname! Unreal. Unreal! Add in the proper 1969 – 2003 years of service notation, and it’s a masterpiece. It doesn’t get better than this.
I could share even more on it… But the show must go on. Plenty more to see! And a good time for a break, why don’t you open part 1 from this series in a new tab to save for later reading?
If you haven’t seen it yet, check out 2025 Recap Part 1 – MLB Commemorative & Vintage Prototype Baseballs
SECTION 3: Extremely Limited Special Editions & Retail-Only Commemoratives
Since I’ve rambled on for so long, let’s quick-drop the rest. I’ll briefly describe each one below, albeit without the climactic, tear-jerking stories of each life-changing new discovery.
- 1993 Rawlings National League MLB Baseball Hall of Fame Tribute Commemorative – Shirley Povich, Washington Post. This even was supposedly coupled with a golf tournament in Cooperstown, I’ve recently read. An AL version exists too.
- 1988 Rawlings American League Joe Robbie Stadium Inaugural Game Baseball. This had to be a game ball taken from the game, with a dealer- or team-added hand stamp, I’d imagine. No way they used baseballs with that stamp in the game, right?
- 2007 Rawlings MLB Ken Griffey Returns Seattle Safeco Field Baseball Reds Mariners Charity Signing Ball. Not a gamer, but a great one. It’s signed on the Sweetspot by Griffey. These were sold by the team for charity.
- 2008 Rawlings MLB Stand Up to Cancer Major League Baseball SU2C Ball ROMLB. This one deserved its own section. I’ve never seen another. What a find! Sure looks like it could have been a gamer, but there’s no evidence these were used.
- 2010 Rawlings PMC Poker Championship Baseball Ride to Cure Cancer Ball. Not a clue. Not much info comes back in Google searches. This could just be a privately commissioned order that attendees / club members resold. Great design nonetheless.
- 2015 Rawlings Kellog’s Cheez-It Baseball Cal Ripken Promotional Ball Orange Laced & Stamped. Well I think it was supposed to be orange-laced and stamped, but I have two and both sure do look Flamin’-Hot-Cheetos red! A damn cool ROMLB Selig official promotional game ball, and with a Cal Ripken Jr. authenticated autograph on the sweet spot.
- 2016 Rawlings Chicago Cubs World Series Champions Baseball Jostens Wrigley Field Exclusive Ball. Supposedly you had to buy a commemorative 2016 Josten’s Cubs WS ring to land one of these. Or you just had to hop on eBay and be patient, and dedicated.
- 2018 Rawlings Minnesota Twins Baseball Minnie & Paul Twin Cities Logo Retro Ball. Is 2018 correct? I’ve heard you had to spend so much in the Twins Team Store to score this ball, and a few other super limited Twins commemoratives. That’s some damn good incentive to rock a Mauer or Kirby Puckett jersey and vintage Twins cap! Or you could try your luck on eBay if you’re patient and dedicated.
- 2019 Rawlings MLB in Omaha Baseball Detroit vs. Kansas City ROMLB Ball – Large Logo Retail Version. This logo is evidence that it does not take much to make a great mark. Bold, big and beautiful. Nebraska has a very balanced, horizontal landscape orientation about it that works great on the canvas of an Official Major League baseball. Just thinking out loud here.
- 2024 Rawlings Seattle Mariners Lil Woody’s Japan From Seattle With Love Baseball. It’s not technically a Mariners’ ball. But it kind of is. Lil’ Woody’s is Tokyo’s Best Burger Shop… according to Lil’ Woody’s. I’ll have to stop in next time I visit Japan. These were never available in the U.S., as far as I know.
- 2024 Rawlings MLB The Show Baseball Sony PlayStation Signed Ball Corbin Carrol. Everyone knows these right? I don’t recall seeing any unsigned MLB The Show balls sold (signature removals don’t count).
SECTION 4: Rawlings Gold Glove Greatness, Non-MLB, and the Totally Unknown
Again, I’ll drop the pics and if you want to learn more, check the descriptions below. I will just say, that 2007 Gold Glove Award (prototype?) ends another super elusive years’ long hunt.
- 1982 Rawlings San Francisco Giants 25th Anniversary Silver Leather Ball. Here’s a real odd one, all the way from 1983. It’s not an official MLB model, but it is leather. And silver. Cool idea for a silver anniversary, but it’s not well executed. I do have a better version with a much cleaner stamp I’ll add someday. Almost forgot… silver laces? This make my idea for metal-flaked gold laces seem plausible.
- 2000s Rawlings Metallica Baseball Scary Guy Skull Logo Tony Squindo Ball. Not an ROMLB blank, again, but I’ve always wanted this Metallica commemorative. They used to sell these on Metallica.com I’ve heard. Tough find nowadays.
- 2000-2003 Rawlings Big League Challenge Baseball Pemmican Beef Jerky Sponsor Logo. The Big League Home Run Challenge was an MLB-sanctioned HR Derby of sorts that ran from 2000–2003 and aired on ESPN. It took place in Las Vegas. These deserve a place in the MLB galleries despite being Official League and not quite ROMLB-grade. I’m not sure these beef jerky balls were actually used, or just promo. I snagged a handful; some came in sealed plastic bags if my memory is correct.
- 2003 Rawlings MLB Big League Home Run Challenge Baseball Official League Ball. See above. We have 3 of the 4 seasons’ event baseballs featured in this gallery (way near the bottom of that page). Now these were the actual event balls used in the derby. The event’s name on the logo changed from Big League Challenge (2000–2002) to Big League Home Run Challenge in 2003.
- 1991 Rawlings Gold Glove Award Ceremony Baseball MLB GGA Awards Ball. Just a classic Rawlings Corporate official leather game-style Gold Glove Award ball, and the original. Beautiful Gold Glove Trophy commemorative logo in a near-photorealistic ink stamping.
- 2007 Rawlings Gold Glove Award Baseball 50th Anniversary Ball MLB GGA. Another grail unlocked! This was on my needs list for ages. I’m not certain if these were produced and used in any official capacity, or if they were a prototype. I’ve only seen 2.
- 2025 Rawlings Gold Glove Award Ceremony Baseball MLB GGA Awards Ball. I didn’t intend to include any 2025 MLB Season’s baseballs in this series. We have plenty of dedicated posts for 2025. But this fit the theme well. The 2025 Gold Glove Award balls were impossible to find, so receiving these unsigned examples right around Christmas was a good reason to celebrate them.
Which of these awesome baseballs was your favorite? How many are new to you? Leave a comment below! And please let us know if you have any interesting info to add.
Part 3 is coming soon. Tons of non-MLB official game balls from all around the world to check out. Be sure to be one of the first to know when Official Game Ball news breaks. Sign up here for our very infrequent email updates:
