The way things are going, the NEXT pope could be Shohei Ohtani . . . because apparently, popes really dig the long ball.
A baseball signed by the late Pope Francis is going up for auction, where it's expected to command up to $15,000. He signed it "Francisco."
Apparently, 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.
Maybe it will fetch more than $15K. Popes don't usually go around signing autographs . . . especially on baseballs . . . so this is probably one of the rarest pieces of memorabilia, if you're into that sort of thing.
But it might not be in the future.
The new American pope, Pope Leo, is from Chicago, and he's reportedly a big White Sox fan. In fact, someone even SPOTTED HIM in the crowd in some old footage of Game One of the Chicago White Sox World Series run in 2005.
Pope Leo XVI Now Has A Topps Trading Card The first American-born pope now has his own Topps trading card.
The card features a picture of the pontiff when he greeted the crowd gathered in St. Peter's Square for the first time. Random orders will receive special variant editions, including a "white smoke image" version of the card that is limited to just 267 copies.
Read More HERE
Speaking of the new pope . . . the Portillo's chain is paying tribute to Pope Leo with a limited-time sandwich. It's "Italian beef, dipped in gravy, and topped with a choice of sweet peppers, hot giardiniera, or both."
Read More HERE