Zack Hample

On April 18, 2013, Hample caught two home run balls in a single game at Yankee Stadium, including the first career homer of Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop Didi Gregorius.[4][5][6]

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.[7]

Hample claimed that he got the 10,000th ball in his life at Camden Yards on August 29, 2017. The ball was tossed up to him by Robinson Cano at the end of the 2nd inning.[8]

Hample is the son of author, performer, playwright and cartoonist Stoo Hample.[9]

According to Pitch in for Baseball, a non-profit charity that provides baseball and softball equipment to underprivileged children, Hample has raised "tens of thousands" of dollars for the organization.[10] He raises the money 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.[11] 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; Hample also personally received an autographed jersey and two autographed bats as part of his deal.[12][13]

On July 2, 2012, Hample attempted to catch a baseball dropped from a helicopter 1,000 feet above LeLacheur Park in Lowell, Massachusetts.[14] Wearing catcher's gear that was donated by Rawlings, Hample caught a softball dropped from a height of 312 feet. He then caught baseballs dropped from heights of 562 feet and 822 feet before the Federal Aviation Administration called off the stunt due to strong winds.[15][16] 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.[17][18][19]

The catch is not recognized as a record by Guinness World Records, as no one from the organization was in attendance to verify the attempt.[20]

Hample's baseball collecting habit has caused a great deal of controversy inside and outside the game of baseball.[21][22] Hample's aggressive tactics have resulted in sportswriters describing him as "baseball's most hated fan",[3] an "ego-maniacal weasel",[23] a "jackass",[23] and a "baby-punching souvenir-monger".[24] 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."[3]

Hample acquired a ticket to the Fort Bragg Game on July 3, 2016, at Fort Bragg Stadium that was meant for active duty military personnel and their friends and families.[25] Hample had publicly offered $1000 to anyone who would give him a ticket. After he came under widespread criticism for taking the ticket, Hample quickly announced that he would donate $100 for every ball he collected to a charity for military veterans.[26] Hample claimed to have caught 11 balls and claimed he would donate $1,100 to AMVETS.[27] He posted a lengthy apology on Twitter, which CBS sports writer Mike Axisa stated "boils down to 'I'm sorry but I really wanted to go.'"[28][27]

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).[29][30][31][32]

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