{"id":320952,"date":"2025-04-21T16:57:06","date_gmt":"2025-04-21T21:57:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/pope-francis-autographed-baseball-could-fetch-15k-at-auction-after-death"},"modified":"2025-04-21T16:57:15","modified_gmt":"2025-04-21T21:57:15","slug":"pope-francis-autographed-baseball-could-fetch-15k-at-auction-after-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/pope-francis-autographed-baseball-could-fetch-15k-at-auction-after-death","title":{"rendered":"Pope Francis Autographed Baseball Might Fetch $15K at Public sale After Demise"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<h2 class=\"article__header--headline-fragments\">\n                          <span class=\"article__header--hf1 text-uppercase h3\">Pope Francis<\/span><br \/>\n                          <span class=\"article__header--hf2 text-uppercase h1\">Let&#8217;s Pray Ball!!!<\/span><br \/>\n                          <span class=\"article__header--hf3 text-none h2\">Signed Baseball Up for Auction After Death<\/span><br \/>\n                      <\/h2>\n<p>        <!--\/.social-media-container--><\/p>\n<p>\n                        Published <time class=\"published-datetime\" datetime=\"2025-04-21T14:47:05-07:00\">April 21, 2025 2:47 PM PDT<\/time>\n                                                                            <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div readability=\"45.2600129199\">\n<section id=\"cb-9d437e0daaf934cdd3d7a1d3917978d3\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-image-block canvas-image-block-permalink canvas-image-block--default  canvas-block-is-first \">\n<div class=\"image-block\">\n                  <a class=\"js-click-image js-track-link image-lightbox-preview\" data-node-ref=\"tmz:image-asset:image_jpg_20250421_e3595e09be2c424ca30d6e9ac446c31c\" data-container-ref=\"tmz:article:592a82c6-98d3-4e71-9e70-daa04e5b4ee7\" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;image&quot;}\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"img-wrapper\">\n<p>                          <img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/imagez.tmz.com\/image\/e3\/4by3\/2025\/04\/21\/e3595e09be2c424ca30d6e9ac446c31c_md.jpg\" alt=\"pope francis signed baseball\" width=\"728\" height=\"546\" class=\"img-fluid image-block__img-fluid img-aspect-auto\"\/>\n                <\/div>\n<p>                  <\/a>\n      <\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><!--\/#cb-9d437e0daaf934cdd3d7a1d3917978d3--><\/p>\n<section id=\"cb-fbb98c8e79999750bef98481345e44cf\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-text-block canvas-text-block-permalink canvas-text-block--default  \" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;text_block&quot;}\" readability=\"25.9386503067\">\n<p>A baseball autographed by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/people\/pope-francis-i\/\"><strong>Pope Francis<\/strong><\/a> is being auctioned off to the highest bidder in the wake of his death &#8230; and it could end up selling for over five figures.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<p><!--\/#cb-fbb98c8e79999750bef98481345e44cf--><\/p>\n<section id=\"cb-4b48a95ac4cdf43ec0000b856ee23def\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-video-block canvas-video-block-permalink canvas-video-block--default  \">\n<div class=\"video-block\">\n<div class=\"ratio ratio-16x9\">\n<div id=\"video-player-02509baf-7a95-467d-8c6a-05384d520fff-1094029325-image-holder\" class=\"ratio ratio-item video-block__image-holder\">\n          <button class=\"ratio-item icon-video--shadow video-block__icon\" id=\"video-player-02509baf-7a95-467d-8c6a-05384d520fff-1094029325-play-btn\"><br \/>\n            <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Play video content<\/span><br \/>\n          <\/button><br \/>\n                    <img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/imagez.tmz.com\/image\/0c\/16by9\/2025\/04\/21\/0c2a5a4192bf49b4a75f941d4ee3a02a_md.jpg\" alt=\"pope-francis-1280x720\" width=\"728\" height=\"410\" class=\"img-fluid\"\/>\n                  <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>                    <span class=\"media-credit video-block__media-credit\">Getty\/TMZ.com<\/span>\n          <\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><!--\/#cb-4b48a95ac4cdf43ec0000b856ee23def--><\/p>\n<section id=\"cb-2bdfcadbac88e713658311cf77fab749\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-text-block canvas-text-block-permalink canvas-text-block--default  \" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;text_block&quot;}\" readability=\"29\">\n<p>The late pontiff signed a baseball several years ago &#8230; scribbling &#8220;Francisco&#8221; in black felt-tip pen on a Rawlings MLB ball &#8230; and now that he&#8217;s dead, the souvenir is hitting the open market.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<p><!--\/#cb-2bdfcadbac88e713658311cf77fab749--><\/p>\n<section id=\"cb-87c797d26a0c53dd8d24ef3821c6f0ba\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-text-block canvas-text-block-permalink canvas-text-block--default  \" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;text_block&quot;}\" readability=\"26.1844660194\">\n<p>The baseball is going up for sale through <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rrauction.com\/auctions\/lot-detail\/350045607170216-pope-francis-signed-baseball\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>RR Auction<\/strong><\/a> &#8230; where it&#8217;s expected to fetch at least $15,000.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<p><!--\/#cb-87c797d26a0c53dd8d24ef3821c6f0ba--><\/p>\n<section id=\"cb-5ac583a8093b5fa1a42c667d1a2cbf06\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-image-block canvas-image-block-permalink canvas-image-block--default  \">\n<div class=\"image-block\">\n                  <a class=\"js-click-image js-track-link image-lightbox-preview\" data-node-ref=\"tmz:image-asset:image_jpg_20250421_296a0532c2b54d059c316b7a4f6a1d36\" data-container-ref=\"tmz:article:592a82c6-98d3-4e71-9e70-daa04e5b4ee7\" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;image&quot;}\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"img-wrapper\">\n<p>                          <img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/imagez.tmz.com\/image\/29\/4by3\/2025\/04\/21\/296a0532c2b54d059c316b7a4f6a1d36_md.jpg\" alt=\"pope francis signed baseball crrauction\" width=\"728\" height=\"546\" class=\"img-fluid image-block__img-fluid img-aspect-auto\"\/>\n                <\/div>\n<p>                  <\/a>\n      <\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><!--\/#cb-5ac583a8093b5fa1a42c667d1a2cbf06--><br \/>\n<a id=\"continued\" class=\"continued-anchor\"\/><\/p>\n<section id=\"cb-ce1e45d9d7a7f4e26d5384b6a136c678\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-text-block canvas-text-block-permalink canvas-text-block--default  \" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;text_block&quot;}\" readability=\"30\">\n<p><strong>Randy L. Kaplan<\/strong>, a government affairs specialist in New York, got the ball signed after working with the Vatican to get Francis and <strong>Pope Benedict XVI<\/strong> to leave their John Hancocks on baseballs.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<p><!--\/#cb-ce1e45d9d7a7f4e26d5384b6a136c678--><\/p>\n<section id=\"cb-78e686a1fd2d4b0bb87263a629861b0f\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-image-block canvas-image-block-permalink canvas-image-block--default  \">\n<div class=\"image-block\">\n                  <a class=\"js-click-image js-track-link image-lightbox-preview\" data-node-ref=\"tmz:image-asset:image_jpg_20220422_e81f812d1d994e4ca50100cec371bcd9\" data-container-ref=\"tmz:article:592a82c6-98d3-4e71-9e70-daa04e5b4ee7\" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;image&quot;}\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"img-wrapper\">\n<p>                          <img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/imagez.tmz.com\/image\/e8\/4by3\/2022\/04\/22\/e81f812d1d994e4ca50100cec371bcd9_md.jpg\" alt=\"The Kaplan Collection\" width=\"728\" height=\"546\" class=\"img-fluid image-block__img-fluid img-aspect-auto\"\/>\n                <\/div>\n<p>                  <\/a>\n      <\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><!--\/#cb-78e686a1fd2d4b0bb87263a629861b0f--><\/p>\n<section id=\"cb-c46cb99da6c24f1045787e2fb387a132\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-text-block canvas-text-block-permalink canvas-text-block--default  \" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;text_block&quot;}\" readability=\"27.2512562814\">\n<p>Randy&#8217;s been collecting signed Major League baseballs from world leaders and heads of state since 1996, starting with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/people\/bill-clinton\/\"><strong>Bill Clinton<\/strong><\/a><strong> <\/strong>&#8230; and he says he has more than 450 signed balls in his collection.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<p><!--\/#cb-c46cb99da6c24f1045787e2fb387a132--><\/p>\n<section id=\"cb-c9e31ca5ac44d4bd101f702ef2a3e84f\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-text-block canvas-text-block-permalink canvas-text-block--default  \" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;text_block&quot;}\" readability=\"28\">\n<p>The auction house tells us the winning bidder will also take home Kaplan&#8217;s correspondence with Vatican officials regarding his efforts to get Francis and Benedict XVI to sign.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<p><!--\/#cb-c9e31ca5ac44d4bd101f702ef2a3e84f--><\/p>\n<section id=\"cb-bcae8320ba41d319acf72cef15b6ef7a\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-youtube-video-block canvas-youtube-video-block-permalink canvas-youtube-video-block--default  \">\n<\/section>\n<p><!--\/#cb-bcae8320ba41d319acf72cef15b6ef7a--><\/p>\n<section id=\"cb-d31b01f62145841d3b108591b93da386\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-text-block canvas-text-block-permalink canvas-text-block--default  \" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;text_block&quot;}\" readability=\"35\">\n<p>One of the letters is from Cardinal <strong>Peter K. A. Turkson<\/strong> and it reads, in part: &#8220;Regretfully, I opened the boxes with the baseballs before reading your message. Not knowing they were from you, I signed them before reading your letter with instructions to have the Popes sign the two baseballs. Sorry about the oversight, if you have other baseballs, kindly send them.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<p><!--\/#cb-d31b01f62145841d3b108591b93da386--><\/p>\n<section id=\"cb-06ed9a5f14d7a79da727aa5456465a2d\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-gallery-block canvas-gallery-block-permalink canvas-gallery-block--default  \">\n<\/section>\n<p><!--\/#cb-06ed9a5f14d7a79da727aa5456465a2d--><\/p>\n<section id=\"cb-17858909a469977ba5ebaa3e4355a119\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-text-block canvas-text-block-permalink canvas-text-block--default  \" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;text_block&quot;}\" readability=\"22.2096774194\">\n<p>Francis <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/2025\/04\/21\/pope-francis-dead\/\"><strong>died Monday<\/strong><\/a> from a stroke and heart failure at age 88.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<p><!--\/#cb-17858909a469977ba5ebaa3e4355a119--><\/p>\n<section id=\"cb-362b6ff541ec8afa678d45c932e15102\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-text-block canvas-text-block-permalink canvas-text-block--default  canvas-block-is-last \" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;text_block&quot;}\">\n<p>The auction ends May 14.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<p><!--\/#cb-362b6ff541ec8afa678d45c932e15102--><\/p><\/div>\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/2025\/04\/21\/pope-francis-signed-baseball-auction\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pope Francis Let&#8217;s Pray Ball!!! Signed Baseball Up for Auction After Death Published April 21, 2025 2:47 PM PDT A baseball autographed by Pope Francis [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1075,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-320952","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/320952","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1075"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=320952"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/320952\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":320954,"href":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/320952\/revisions\/320954"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=320952"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=320952"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=320952"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}