Baseball is a sport that's loved by many. They refer to it as America's greatest pastime. I personally fell in love with and played the sport of baseball since the bright and early age of three. I have also had the privilege to attend several major league baseball games around the United States. If you attended a baseball game before, you would know how difficult it is to catch a foul ball or home run. Foul balls and home runs happen all the time in just about every baseball game.
However, you still have to compete with about fifty thousand plus for a baseball that can only be caught in the right place at the right time. Zack Hample does not let that logic stop him from collecting over 11,000 major league baseballs and acquiring the nickname "ballhawk."
Zack Hample is an American author known for collecting more than 11,000 major league baseballs from 53 different Major League stadiums. They call him the "ballhawk" because of his sole drive and hunger to retrieve as many major league baseballs as he possibly can. He takes extreme measures into assuring himself at least one baseball from every game he attends. Hample has broken this down to a science that most would not be willing to do.
First, Hample would study the stats of the players and find out where they were likely to hit home runs. He would then position himself in the bleachers accordingly, allowing him all angles to move. This proved his theory as he is always in the area of a home run ball when it is hit. He was the man to catch the 3,000 hit which was a home run by Alex Rodriguez.
Hample not only received home run balls but also simply asked the players for them. He took it upon himself to personally learn how to say "May I have a baseball" in the native languages of the major league players to increase his chances of receiving a baseball. "I would ask them in their native language for a baseball," said Hample.
Many criticized Hample and refers to this action as an obsession. He has been slandered and called many names by the media. The slander became worse when he refused to return A-Rod's 3,000 hit to him or the yankee organization. Dodger's pitcher Clayton Kershaw denied Hample a ball saying he already had 7,000 of them. He defends himself by stating this to be his true passion. He claims he does not mean harm to anybody. Hample received his first ball from a Mets pitcher at Shea Stadium on June 20, 1990. He has stayed true to this passion ever since. He has caught home run balls from Mike Trout, Jason Giambi, and Barry Bonds.
Zack Hample still holds true to his passion snagging baseballs up to this day. His most recent ball was retrieved May 1, 2018; a home run. Nonetheless he has done many noble acts with his skill by giving back to non profit charity organizations. He returned the baseball to A-rod in exchange for a donation to the charities. He also takes young baseball fans with him on his adventure to help them retrieve baseballs as well. He continues to put out books and you never know, he may be sitting next to you with his glove at your home town major league baseball game.
