On Friday night, New York Yankees mercurial hitter Alex Rodriguez blasted his 3,000th career hit, which just so happened to be a home run. The man who caught the ball is unwilling to part with his piece of history, but it comes as no surprise considering his background.
Here’s A-Rod’s 3,000th hit/ball. Told the @Yankees I’m keeping it. Got it authenticated by @MLB. This is un-REAL. pic.twitter.com/qEo2qX9Iru
— Zack Hample (@zack_hample) June 20, 2015
The man, Zack Hample, is a baseball collector who has written books on how to snag balls at games. People pay him to go to games with him so that they can snag baseballs too. There have even been mentions of him routinely shoving children out of his way to grab a home run ball.
According to Justin Tasch of the New York Daily News, the Yankees made a number of offers to Hample for the ball — memorabilia, tickets, a television spot, press conference. He wasn’t interested.
“I’ve always said if I catch a ball that’s life-changing money, I would consider selling it,” said Hample. “So obviously that’s what this is. I don’t think this is a million-dollar baseball, and I really don’t know what I’m gonna do with it, but I do not plan to give it back to Alex Rodriguez.”
Now there’s a good chance the Yankees will find a way (or figure) that entices Hample to part with his prized possession. Maybe A-Rod himself will pay Hample for the piece of history. He could definitely use the positive PR.
We’ll see what happens, but it appears it’s going to take a whole lot to get Hample to give up A-Rod’s historic ball.
