" ''It was a list of his goals, the dreams he hoped to achieve in baseball,'' said Lopez, who grew up with Ibañez's older brothers, Tony and Armando, and now is the football coach at Doral Reagan High.

``It's amazing, after all the years, all the sacrifice, all the hard work -- I think he might be close to checking them all off. Who would have ever believed it?''

Ibañez could be the best story of perseverance in baseball today. After 14 years in the majors, he played in his first All-Star Game at 37 on Tuesday night.

The next goal could be a World Series ring. On Thursday, Ibañez will be back home in South Florida with the world-champion Phillies for an important four-game series with the second-place Marlins at Land Shark Stadium.

Often, a hometown player will receive a standing ovation -- even if he is playing for the opposition. But Ibañez, who grew up playing at Tamiami Park, Flagami and the Kendall Boys Club and graduated from Miami Sunset High in 1991 before spending a year at Miami Dade College, is not expecting anything."