Popes and Baseball?
Add this to . . . “Things I Never Thought I’d Ever Say”. Apparently, Popes dig the long ball. A couple of “baseball related Pope things” . . . 1) A baseball signed by the late Pope Francis is going up for auction, where it’s expected to command up to $15,000. A collector in New York spent YEARS trying to get Pope Francis to sign a baseball, and somehow it happened. And now, he’s willing to part with it (So after all that, was it just a money grab? Seems a little tacky). Popes don’t usually sign autographs, especially on baseballs, so this is probably one of the rarest pieces of “Pope Memorabilia” (if you’re into that sort of thing). And 2) The new American pope, Leo The 14th, is from Chicago, and is reportedly a big White Sox fan. In fact, someone even spotted him in the crowd in some old footage of Game 1 of the Chicago White Sox World Series run in 2005. It’s actually pretty amazing that: A: someone found this (especially with how brief it is), and B: the Pope looks like a regular baseball fan, just enjoying the game (If you don’t know, Chicago won that game, and the World Series over the Astros in a sweep, four games to none). And speaking of the new pope, the Portillo’s restaurant chain is paying tribute to Pope Leo with a “limited time sandwich.” It’s Italian beef, dipped in gravy, topped with a choice of sweet peppers, hot giardiniera, or both.
