Yesterday I made the trip north and got everyone I was hoping to see. I got Winston Llenas who was kind as always and ended up going to the stadium to get Jose Garcia. Boy, that dude is tough! I had made contact with him before coming here but didn't work out the price before hand. Anyway, when we started talking business he wanted more to sign (per autograph) than Ramon Martinez. Well that wasn't going to happen. After some negotiating, we finally agreed on a price but it was 50% more than the average Dominican players charges me. While there I said hello to Santiago Ramirez who my best friend on the team, he's a great guy! Next we headed over to the park and got Miguel Dilone to sign. He made me wait until after his dominoes game was over but it was worth it. He signed the 100 or so cards and pictures that everyone sent in and I paid him. He told me that his fastest 60 was 6.2. He also said that he's never believed in pure speed. He said that Frank Taveras, who ran in the 60 in 6.8, was the quickest baserunner he ever saw. He said that Taveras ran from base to base with very little wasted space. He also told me that his real estate is doing well. He's only sold one property this entire year but made a $40,000 profit on it so he's set for awhile.
On the way home, we stopped off to see Federico Velazquez. He was a big supporter of the recently re-elected President and in return the President just completed a new house that 'Freddy' and family just moved into. Boy, what if that ever happened in the US! He signed everything I had and was happy for the extras I brought. He finished off 2 bottles of Presidente beer while signing for me so you can tel which autos were signed first and last.