Zack Hample

Zack Hample (born September 14, 1977) is a New York based writer and Major League baseball collector. In 1999, he published the book "How to Snag Major League Baseballs", and in 2007 he finished "Watching Baseball Smarter", a detailed guide to the intricacies of the game of baseball, which was the eighth best selling American sports book of the year. As of October 1, 2008, Hample has collected 3,816 baseballs from 44 different Major League stadiums. He acquired his first Major League baseball from a Mets reliever at Shea Stadium on June 20, 1990, got his 3,000th ball by using his famous baseball glove trick at Yankee Stadium on May 7, 2007, and set a personal, one-game record with 28 baseballs at Nationals Park on April 10, 2008. Hample caught Barry Bonds' 724th career home run at PETCO Park on August 16, 2006 and caught the first home run of the 2007 Home Run Derby, hit by Justin Morneau at AT&T Park. According to Twin Galaxies, Hample holds official world records on half a dozen classic video games, including Breakout (896 points) and Arkanoid (1,658,110 points).

During the final week ever at 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 by the TV cameras. The following night, in nearly the exact same spot in the right field bleachers, Hample reached far over a railing to make a backhanded catch on a Johnny Damon home run ball and celebrated with the same dance. The Yankees' announcers quickly noticed it was the same guy from the day before, and within the next 24 hours, the story was covered by ESPN, CBS, NBC, FOX, CNN International, and many other media outlets. In fact, when Yahoo! Sports found out, they acknowledged Hample's snagging skills, and didn't know that it was him who made the catch. [Yahoo! Sports|title=Yankees fan in right place at right time on two straight nightsVisitors|url=http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Yankees-fan-in-right-place-at-right-time-on-two-?urn=mlb,108739]

On September 28, 2008, Hample caught the last ever New York Mets home run hit at Shea Stadium, this one hit by Carlos Beltran.

Hample is also writing the foreword for "Major League Baseball: An Interactive Guide to the World of Sports", a Sports By The Numbers title. [http://www.sportsbythenumbers.com] Hample has also written part-time for minorleaguebaseball.com.

On October 8th, Zack Hample made an appearence on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

External links

* [http://www.zackhample.com Official web site]
* [http://snaggingbaseballs.mlblogs.com Official blog]
* [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12589633 NPR Interview]
* [http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1022256/index.htm Sports Illustrated article]
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/10/sports/baseball/10cheer.html New York Times article]
* [http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=yhoo-3494andcounting&prov=yhoo&type=lgns Associated Press article]
* [http://deadspin.com/5051626/who-is-the-mystery-back+to+back-homer-guy Deadspin article]

References