Auction Block Hit By Volodymyr Zelensky Signed Baseball, Sale Aids Ukraine Relief

Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy, also transliterated as Zelensky, is a Ukrainian politician who serves as the sixth and current president of Ukraine. Zelenskyy is a former actor and comedian. Zelenskyy grew up as a native Russian speaker in Kryvyi Rih, a major city of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast in central Ukraine.

On the baseball, the Ukrainian President inscribed his last name in two languages: Ukrainian cursive and English print, with his signature right below a Major League Baseball emblem. During a trip to New York in September 2019, Zelensky left his John Hancock on the ball. A letter signed by Volodymyr Yelchenko, Ukraine’s Ambassador to the United Nations at the time, is included with the ball.

The baseball will be auctioned off by RR Auction and is projected to earn at least $15,000. The ball is in “extremely good” shape, according to the auction company, and Kaplan expects to donate a portion of the revenues to a Ukrainian assistance fund… RR has stated that they will donate their cut to the same charity. The baseball has already received 13 bids, and the auction will continue through May 11.

Volodymyr Zelensky has left his imprint on America’s pastime: the global leader autographed a baseball that will be auctioned off to benefit Ukraine’s recovery efforts.