Museum of Baseballs: Major League Baseball National and American League Postseason Baseballs. From 1996 to 1999, and 2012-2019, Major League Baseball playoff games featured a Rawlings special event logo official game ball, unique for each season. Each commemorative logo for every playoff series ball was different in the first iteration. How refreshing! In the ’90s, these were National and American League balls, naturally. The very last official National League and American League baseballs ever used in official game play were post season playoff baseballs. Two of the best ever made too, the 1999 NLCS and ALCS baseballs (see below).
1996–1999 Rawlings National & American League Division & Championship Series Baseballs
1996 ALDS Version 1. 1996 ALDS Version 2. 1996 NLDS Version 1. 1996 NLDS Version 2. 1996 ALCS Version 1. 1996 ALCS Version 2. 1996 NLCS Version 1. 1996 NLCS Version 2. 1997 ALDS Error/Canceled: misspelled “Amercian”. 1997 ALDS. 1997 NLDS. 1997 ALCS Error/Canceled: misspelled “Amercian”. 1997 ALCS. 1997 NLCS. 1998 ALDS. 1998 NLDS. 1998 ALCS. 1998 NLCS. 1999 ALDS. 1999 NLDS. 1999 American League Championship Series ALCS & 1999 National League Championship Series NLCS: The final AL & NL baseballs ever used. (NL President Coleman, AL President Budig)
In 2000, Major League Baseball’s commissioner’s office (Selig) dissolved the league presidents’ offices and ushered in a new era for the new millennium with the corporate blue ROMLB ball, thereby killing off these fantastic, historical individual league-stamped gems. What a shame. Postseason baseball were also discontinued following those great 1999 commemoratives. But the league reversed course, at least temporarily, and brought them back in 2012…
Rawlings 2012–2019 Major League Baseball Postseason Baseballs (Wild Card, ALDS, NLDS, ALCS & NLCS)
2012 MLB Postseason. 2013 MLB Postseason. 2014 MLB Postseason. 2015 MLB Postseason. 2016 MLB Postseason. 2017 MLB Postseason (Final silver-stamped MLB game ball). 2018 MLB Postseason. 2019 MLB Postseason (Final Major League Baseball Postseason commemorative game ball). (Commissioner Selig 2012–2014; Commissioner Manfred 2015–2019)
The triumphant return of Rawlings Major League Baseball Postseason (Post Season) Official Game Balls! In 2012, MLB brought back postseason gamers, using a universal ball for all postseason matchups each year, from wild card games through league championship series. From 2012 through 2017, baseballs were stamped in beautiful silver ink (though technically it was gray). Then the Big Leagues switched colors to that cold, dark, corporate MLB blue in 2018. Unfortunately these special playoff game balls were retired following the 2019 season. Now, the league only uses the standard MLB ROMLB game ball for all postseason playoff games. SHAME!