CINCINNATI -- Danny Graves couldn't believe what showed up in the mail.
The Cincinnati Reds closer lost his wallet at the start of a West Coast trip last week and figured he would never see it again. The wallet contained his credit cards, his driver's license, his Reds identification card to get into ballparks and about $1,400 in cash.
A man who cleaned the team's bus in San Diego not only returned the wallet and all of its contents, but took extraordinary precautions to make certain it would be safe during shipping.
"The guy kept the cash and exchanged it for traveler's checks so it wouldn't get stolen through the mail," Graves said Tuesday. "It was like $1,400 in cash. He did say, 'I borrowed $26 to overnight it to you.'
"He sent his name, address and phone number. He said, 'All I ask for is could you please sign an autograph for my father.' He's going to get a little more than an autograph."
The man lives in San Diego and found the wallet on the bus that took the Reds from the airport to their hotel.
Graves realized he had lost the wallet when he arrived at the hotel. The club asked the airline and the bus company to check for it. No one spotted it immediately, and Graves figured he would never see it again.
The wallet arrived at his home in Florida on Monday, at the address listed on his driver's license. Graves' wife called to give him the news.
He was flabbergasted that a stranger went to such lengths to make sure he got everything back.
"To see all of that money and not take any of it -- a guy that probably that money could go a long way with him -- that's just honesty," Graves said. "Good things are going to happen to that guy. It's just an amazing story.
"I'm going to send him a bunch of stuff. He's going to get a little more than an autograph. He's going to get some of that money, too."
