LA Dodgers 18 Strikeouts Game Ball
 

I recently purchased this baseball from Ebay. As you can see the ball is game used. Has anybody ever seen one these or something similar?...could this be from Ramon Martinez's 18 strikeout game? I guess there's no way to tell for sure but would be interested in hearing some feedback.

Hi Ron,
It's an interesting ball, that's very nicely presented. :cool:

Is it a game ball?
Possibly, but without additional provenance it's not a slam dunk even though the NL President is from the right era from when Ramon Martinez pitched his 18 K game

What did the seller have as far as additional details surrounding the balls history?

Thank you Scott. The seller said that he bought it at a flea market. FWIW the seller is from Whittier CA which is about 20-30 mins from LA lol.

Could it be a Dodger Stadium gift shop souvenir ball, sold in the aftermath of the Ramon Martinez game?

Martinez had a decent enough career but he was expected to be the next "GREAT" Dodger pitcher. 2nd in the Cy Young voting his age 22 season, when he had that 18 strikeout game.

That's what I thought it was/is. I tried to look for another one but couldn't find any.

[QUOTE=D. Bergin;2341394]Could it be a Dodger Stadium gift shop souvenir ball, sold in the aftermath of the Ramon Martinez game?

Martinez had a decent enough career but he was expected to be the next "GREAT" Dodger pitcher. 2nd in the Cy Young voting his age 22 season, when he had that 18 strikeout game.[/QUOTE

Ramon was the hot rookie pitching prospect in the early 1990's.
It's also important to note that he threw a no-hitter in 1995 while pitching for the Dodgers. Some scouts were concerned with his pitching mechanics and felt it might lead to a short career, but he was spectacular early on.

Interestingly enough, when Ramon was being interviewed early in his successful career, he kept saying:
"Wait until you see my little brother Pedro. He's the ONE!!"
Ramon should be a scout. :cool:

I think that's a super cool ball, especially for the price you paid, I would have grabbed it if I saw it.

That having been said, I believe it to be a fantasy piece, you can see lines under where much of the printing is.

And for the record, Ramon's full name to Dodgers fans is Ramon "you should have listened to me about my brother" Martinez.

Doug


Edited to say I just saw your last post Scott, great minds...

Thanks Doug...I thought so myself, displays well and figured it's worth a shot.

I remembered seeing other Dodger ball at auction with similar markings. Here's one:

Attachment 572101
https://sports.ha.com/itm/baseball-c.../50058-54180.s


Rick

Interesting...

The ball is hand painted, not printed. Those lines would have been guide lines to keep the printing straight. Common practice to use pencil lines when hand printing an item.

My use of the word "printing" is a semantics issue.

Doug,

True. I was thinking that some may believe it was actually printed like many of those commemorative balls rather that the fantasy one off piece that it is.

Attachment 572156

Thank you Rick for sharing. The numbers 18 and 20 looks to be done by the same person.

I was looking through some auction catalogs and found this ball from the Vin Scully collection. Similar style as far as the red number goes.

I would also agree that John Kay was a fantasy one off...