Zack Hample

Zack Hample
Hample in 2016
Born	Zachary Benjaman Hample (1977-09-14) September 14, 1977 New York City
Occupation	Writer
Nationality	American
Genre	Sports
Notable works	"Watching Baseball Smarter" and "The Baseball"
Website
www.zackhample.com

Zachary Benjamin Hample (born September 14, 1977) is an American ballhawk, author, and YouTuber. He is well-known for his claim that he has collected more than 10,000 baseballs from major league stadiums in North America (United States & Canada), including Alex Rodriguez's 3,000th career hit, Mike Trout's first career home run and Alex Blandino's first career home run. Hample has faced criticism from fans, players, and sportswriters, one of whom has accused him of attacking children in his efforts to grab baseballs. His father, Stoo Hample, was a writer.^[1]

Baseball collection

Hample claims to have collected more than 10,000 baseballs from 53 different major league stadiums as of April 16, 2018, including 54 game home runs.^[2]

• He acquired his first ball from a Mets pitcher at Shea Stadium on June 20, 1990.
• He caught Barry Bonds' 724th career home run at Petco Park on August 16, 2006;^[3]
• During the final week at the old Yankee Stadium, Hample gained worldwide recognition by catching home run balls on consecutive nights. On September 16, 2008, he made a leaping catch on a Jason Giambi home run and immediately celebrated with a goofy dance that was captured on TV. The following night, in nearly exactly the same spot in the right-field bleachers, Hample reached far over a railing to make a backhanded catch on a Johnny Damon home run and celebrated with the same dance.^[4] The Yankees' announcers recognized him from the previous game, and within the next 24 hours the story was covered by ESPN, CBS, NBC, FOX, CNN International, Japanese TV, and other media outlets. Yahoo! Sports initially acknowledged Hample's baseball-snagging skills, but did not know that it was he who had made the catches.^[5]
• Less than two weeks later, on September 28, 2008, Hample caught the last home run ever hit by a Mets player at Shea Stadium, this one off the bat of Carlos Beltrán.^[6]
• On October 8, 2008, Hample appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and followed that nearly one year later with an appearance on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, during which O'Brien told Hample "I think you're the worst man in America."^[7] Prior to Hample's three home run catches of 2008, he had been featured on The Rosie O'Donnell Show, the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric, and on an episode of the John O'Hurley version of the game show To Tell The Truth, during which he managed to trick the audience and two of the four celebrity panelists.^[8]
• On May 12, 2011, he caught three foul balls during a single game at Camden Yards.^[9]
• He caught Mike Trout's first major league home run on July 24, 2011, at Camden Yards;^[10][11]
• In March 2012, Hample attended MLB's Opening Series at the Tokyo Dome in Japan, snagging a total of 23 balls in two games.^[12]
• On April 18, 2013, he caught two home run balls in a single game at Yankee Stadium, including the first career homer of Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop Didi Gregorius.^[13][14][15]
• He snagged Alex Rodriguez's 3,000th hit, a home run, on June 19, 2015;^{[16][17][18][19]}
• On September 14, 2015, he caught an Anthony Rendon home run on the first pitch of the game at Citizens Bank Park.^[20]
• On September 16, 2015, he caught two home runs during the 4th inning at Citizens Bank Park, first grabbing a Jayson Werth home run and later catching a home run by Darin Ruf.^[21]
• On April 27, 2017, Hample caught two home runs during the same game at Progressive Field. One was hit off the bat of Marwin González and another was hit by Abraham Almonte.^[22]
• On August 29, 2017, Hample caught his 10,000th lifetime ball at Camden Yards, his lofty ballhawk milestone. The ball, which was tossed up to him by Robinson Cano, ended the 2nd inning.*^[23][24]
• On May 1, 2018, Hample snagged Reds infielder Alex Blandino's first career home run. Hample returned the ball to Blandino, asking only to be the one to hand it over, as well as a signed bat from Blandino.
• On September 13, 2018, Hample caught two home runs during a doubleheader at Citi Field. In game 1, Hample snagged Mets Pitcher Steven Matz first career home run and in game 2, Hample caught a home run off the bat of Marlins infielder Miguel Rojas.

Writing

Hample has written three books. The first, How to Snag Major League Baseballs, was published by Simon & Schuster in 1999 when he was a junior at Guilford College. The second, Watching Baseball Smarter, was published by Random House in 2007. His third book, The Baseball, also published by Random House, was released on March 8, 2011. Hample, a writer for minorleaguebaseball.com from 2005 to 2007, contributed the foreword to Major League Baseball: An Interactive Guide to the World of Sports in 2008 and wrote the introduction for Baseball Scorekeeper in 2011.

Fundraising activities

Since 2009, Hample has been raising money for Pitch in for Baseball, a non-profit charity that provides baseball and softball equipment to underprivileged children all over the world.^[25][26][27] With help from his fans, who pledge money for every baseball that he snags at Major League stadiums, and from BIGS Sunflower Seeds, who sponsored him during the 2013 season,^[28] In July 2015, Hample gave Alex Rodriguez the ball from his 3,000th hit in exchange for the Yankees donating $150,000 to Pitch In For Baseball.^[29][30][31] According to Pitch in for Baseball, Hample has raised "tens of thousands" of dollars for the organization.^[32]

Helicopter stunt

On July 2, 2012, Hample attempted to break a world record by catching a baseball dropped from a helicopter 1,000 feet above LeLacheur Park in Lowell, Massachusetts.^[33] Wearing catcher's gear that was donated by Rawlings, Hample established a record by catching a softball dropped from a height of 312 feet. He then caught baseballs dropped from heights of 312 feet, 562 feet, and 822 feet before the Federal Aviation Administration called off the stunt due to strong winds.^[34][35] The 822-foot catch was initially thought to be 762 feet, but a discrepancy in the altimeter settings, which was captured on video and discovered months later, added 60 feet to the altitude. On July 13, 2013, Hample made another attempt at LeLacheur Park and succeeded in catching a baseball dropped from an altitude of 1,050 feet.^[36][37][38]

Criticism

Hample has faced criticism from sportswriters, players, and fans, some of whom have pointed out that he has been seen bumping children out of his way in efforts to grab baseballs.^[39][40]

Clayton Kershaw once refused to give Hample a ball; Hample tweeted that when he asked Kershaw for the ball, Kershaw told him no because Hample already had "7000 of 'em."^[41]

Video games

Hample, a competitive video game player, appeared briefly in the 2007 documentary The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters. According to Twin Galaxies, he holds official world records on half a dozen classic video games including Breakout (896 points) and Arkanoid (1,658,110 points).^[49][50][51]

Rubber band ball

Hample owns a large rubber band ball, which, according to the Daily Mail, he started building at the age of three.^[52] As stated on Reddit in 2013, the ball had reached a weight of 250 pounds and was still growing.^[53] In 2014 Hample appeared with the ball on the Daily Planet show on Discovery Channel Canada. The ball weighed 259 pounds and bounced more than halfway up when rolled off a forklift from a height of eight feet.^[54] The ball weighs 305 pounds as of May 2018.

References

External links

• Official blog