Weds, December 3 2008 - BREAKING NEWS!

I AM PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THAT I HAVE FINALLY AQUIRED THE AUTOGRAPH I HAVE BEEN SEARCHING FOR ALMOST 2 YEARS. ORLANDO ISALES, THE LAST GUY I WAS MISSING FROM MY 1980PHILLIES WORLD SERIES TEAM! THERE IS A GREAT STORY BEHIND IT TOO. I HAVE BEEN RANDOMLY SENDING OUT EMAILS TO SELLERS ON EBAY WHO ARE OFFERING SIGNED INDEX CARDS FOR SALE, IN HOPES OF GETTING LUCKY FINDING AN ISALES. I DO IT EVERY MONTH OR SO BUT NEVER EVEN CAME CLOSE. WELL I DID IT MONDAY, AND IMMEDIATLEY STARTED GETTING THE USUAL REPLIES - "NOPE", "NEVER HEARD OF HIM", "DON'T HAVE ANY". I GET HOME AND GET A RESPONSE "ACTUALLY I DO, IT WAS SIGNED 10/5/80. HOW MUCH WILL YOU PAY FOR IT?". MY RESPONSE "HERE IS MY NUMBER, CALL ME. I WILL PAY BETWEEN $50 AND $100." THE GENTLEMAN CALLED ME THAT NIGHT AND HE LIVED ON THE NEW YORK / CANADIAN BORDER. THROUGHOUT THE 70'S AND 80'S, HE WOULD HIT THE HOTELS FOR VISITING TEAMS PLAYING THE EXPOS, AND HE WOULD WRITE ON THE BACK THE DATE IN WHICH HE OBTAINED THE AUTOGRAPH. I COULD TELL RIGHT AWAY THAT THIS GUY LOVED BASEBALL, AND THE AUTOGRAPH HOBBY AND THAT HE WAS LEGIT. HE HAD NO IDEA THAT WHO ISALES WAS OR WHY HE WOULD BE WORTH ANYTHING, AND THAT HE WOULD HAPPILY TAKE $50 FOR IT, BECAUSE IT IS $50 MORE THEN HE THOUGHT HE WOULD GET. WE HAD A GREAT CONVERSATION AND IT ARRIVED TODAY. HOW RANDOM WAS THAT?FINALLY, IM DONE!!! THE GREATEST PART OF THE STORY IS THAT I LOOKED UP THE PHIL SCHEDULE. ON OCTOBER 5, 1980 THE PHILLIES HAD ALREADY CLINCHED THE DIVISION AND WAS PLAYING THE EXPOS. THEY PLAYED ALOT OF THEIR SCRUBS THAT DAY, INCLUDING ISALES WHO WENT INTO THAT GAME WITH 1 CAREER AT BAT WITH 1 HIT FROM A FEW GAMES EARLIER. WELL GOOD OLD ORLANDO WENT 1 FOR 4 THAT DAY WITH HIS ONLY CAREER RBI! HE NEVER PLAYED IN THE MAJORS, OR IN THE MINORS FROM WHAT I CAN TELL, EVER AGAIN. I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM THAT CAUSED HIS CAREER TO END BUT THAT DAY WAS PROBABLY THE GREATEST OF HIS BASEBALL CAREER.