Hitting one out of the park

Among my souvenirs, I number a number of autographed baseballs, but the thing about them is, they are signed by baseball players. I mean, it would be odd to have a football player sign one, or a piano player, or anyone else who has nothing to do with baseball.

And that list would include Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine. As heroic as he is, I wouldn't think of having him sign a baseball. 

But someone did!

Ukraine's President signed a ball for an American collector in 2019. At that time, chances are that fewer that one in ten Americans could have identified him by name (which happens to be Володимир Олександрович Зеленський in the original Ukrainian.) At that time, Zelenskyy was just finishing a four-year run as the comedy star of "Servant Of The People," in which he played the role of the president of Ukraine.

You read that right. He is a lawyer who became an actor and became the star of a popular TV comedy, and then became the heroic leader of his nation.

The ball he signed is an official Rawlings Major League Baseball, the very sort that American sluggers send on long trips by air when batted. This one will be auctioned off, with a portion of the proceeds earmarked for war relief efforts in Ukraine, auctioneer RR Auction of Boston said last week.

It's owned by Randy Kaplan, who's a governmental affairs specialist from New York. He has a lot of connections around the world with political leaders, and has amassed a treasure trove of some 500 autographed balls. They've been displayed at museums and presidential libraries around America.

It all started with Bill Clinton. (Didn't a million things start with Bill Clinton?) The affable lefty from Little Rock scrawled his John Hancock on a ball for Kaplan in 1996, and that began a hobby that will now help the people of Ukraine to the tune of many thousands of dollars by the time the auctioneer's gavel slams down on Wednesday.

 

“With what’s going on in the world right now it makes sense to auction it at this point because the proceeds will help the people in Ukraine,” Kaplan says. “What’s going on in Ukraine is a disgrace and it’s breaking my heart to see the people dying there. Their needs are just so dire right now.”

“I am really hoping Zelenskyy survives this,” Kaplan added. “He’s a very brave man.”

That he is.