This was a project for my Honors Writing class, and I like how it came out so I'll post in on here. I removed pictures, so it would fit on the post nicely.
Not Your Average Baseball Fan
It is a hot day, in the middle of the summer at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York. Someone who appears to be a normal, casually dressed baseball fan, is racing through the bleachers, weaving in and out of aisles throughout batting practice. Occasionally he calls out to a player on the field, asking for a baseball. The fan then changes his shirt and hat as the teams who are batting change. People around him wonder what is going on because most have never seen a show like this. This is how he spends many a summer day because this is not your average baseball fan; this is Ballhawk Zack Hample who has been showing his “snagging” skills as he calls them, for a few decades now.
Ballhawks are sub culture of baseball fans, who for the most part go to many games, and snag as many baseballs as they can. A website called mygameballs.com, is devoted to tracking the accolades of these ballhawks, and is used both in a competitive, and fun manner. To many of these ballhawks, Zack Hample is considered one of the best, if not THE best ever. Zack did not gain this status overnight though.
Catching a baseball at a game is the dream of many children across America who may attend once or twice a season. Most of these children go home empty handed and disappointed. Zack Hample was one of those children. As we get under way, Zack is very relaxed, for he has done this before. He is about to talk about what he is most passionate about. Baseball. He is dressed much as I expected from what I have seen in the past. He is relaxed and is wearing a baseball cap. He looks very casual. “It took me six years to snag my first ball,” said Zack. You probably would not realize that if you just met him though. When asked how many baseballs he has now “snagged” as he calls it, he responded very quickly, “5805.” To Zack this isn’t just a number though, “There’s just something about the game itself that is appealing to me.”
Most people never even get a single baseball, and it’s no coincidence that Zack has gotten over 5,800. He has many methods of doing so including catching balls in batting practice as well as during games, getting toss ups from players, and using his infamous “glove trick”. This glove trick, is a unique way in which Zack can reach baseballs on the field, by using a glove, long length of string, a rubber band, and a sharpie. To perform this maneuver, Zack ties string to the handle of a baseball glove, stretches a rubber band around the web of the glove, and props the glove open using a sharpie marker. Hample is the unofficial creator of this trick. All of these methods combined, have helped Zack get at least one baseball at every game he has been to since 1993.
Before this streak started though, Zack’s quest for baseballs started slow. Zack was born and raised in New York City, and like most kids, only went to games occasionally when his parents wanted to. As Zack grew older, he began going to more and more games on his own, and with these games grew his collection.
This season, Zack decided that he wanted to go to all thirty major league baseball stadiums. In the first half of the season, he suffered an ankle injury that looked like it was going to handicap much of his season, but like most of his other goals, he still managed to accomplish the feat.
Even before the season started I was kicking around the idea. Then as the season went on, it got more realistic and things fell into place
One may ask how Zack Hample gets the money to travel all over the country going to baseball games, one hundred and thirty one this season alone, and the answer to the question, is that Zack is an accomplished writer. He has written three books in total entitled, “How To Snag Major League Baseballs”, “Watching Baseball Smarter”, and “The Baseball”, with his audience being mainly baseball fans. His latest book, “The Baseball”, which he has identified as his favorite, was very well received by the baseball community and according to Kirkus Reviews, “Brings a whole new dimension to the term ‘inside baseball.’ . . . Hample . . . provides plenty of revelations to even the most passionate follower of the game.” Hample also regularly writes a blog about his baseball goings on and makes many connections through there, as well as at the actual games themselves. These connections are usually with fans who have a spare ticket to give Zack, or a tip off about a little known fact on a stadium he hasn’t been to in a while.Writing is something that Hample enjoys, especially since his first book was published when he was still a junior in college. Hample may get this love of writing from his late father, who was an accomplished children’s writer.
Even the most strict followers of the game of baseball might get tired after going to one hundred and thirty one games in one season, most people don’t even go to that many in their lives, but not Hample.
Hample joked, “Actually I didn’t get tired of the travel. I was more tired of my friend complaining the whole trip than anything.”
Zack did admit that, “I had trouble keeping up with the blog.” (because he didn’t always have internet access). And “Having to eat all of that crappy stadium food every day got old.”
Getting well over 1,100 baseballs this season made up for the crappy food, and his complaining friend though I’m sure.
For those who aren’t familiar with Zack Hample, it may seem as if he is selfish because he is taking away from children at the games; but this is hardly the case. Every game, Zack gives countless baseballs away to children who he sees with empty gloves. To many of these children, it makes their day. Zack knows this because he was one of those children who didn’t get a ball for six years. When asked why he gives baseballs away he responded, “It’s just a nice thing to do for the younger kids. Most of their faces light up.”
This is not the only way in which Zack gives back to the game he loves dearly either. Since 2009, he has been taking pledges for every ball he snags, for the charity “Pitch in for Baseball”. This charity is very close to Zack, because it was created to give back to the game that Hample loves being a part of. According to the charity’s website, “Pitch In For Baseball spreads America's pastime to kids all over the world. From getting out and having fun, to learning about sportsmanship and teamwork, baseball is a great activity for all kids. To share our beloved sport, we collect and deliver new and gently-used youth baseball and softball equipment to underserved communities around the globe.”
I started taking pledges for the same reasons that I give balls away to kids. I just want to give back to the baseball world.
According to snaggingbaseballs.mlblogs.com, Hample’s blog, he has raised over $8,500 for Pitch in for Baseball in this season alone. This is why every baseball that he snags means so much. Of course he gets self fulfillment out of each one, but he is helping children out with them as well.
Many people in the baseball world know who Zack Hample is and what he is about, but of course just the average baseball fan might not. When asked if he has ever had bad interactions with people at games Hample looked down in thought and said, “Oh yeah. You can’t go to 900 games and not have bad interactions with people. Most of it is in the past, at times I was too aggressive, but I am really ashamed of reaching around people.” This is understandable though because in the excitement of doing something one loves, it is very easy to overreact, and Hample is apologetic in that sense. Hample is usually the victim in these situations however. At games, especially in the tough New York stadiums, other fans are very aggressive, and sometimes get angry at him if he gets more than one or two balls. He is also often razzed for changing team shirts during batting practice to optimize his chances of getting a ball thrown to him by a player.
The actual sub-sport of “ballhawking”, which once again, is snagging balls at games regularly, has a good following within its sub culture; however some people look at it in a negative light.
“What is your response to people who call what you do lame?”
I don’t know. I guess I’ve gotten to the point where I don’t feel like I have to defend the sport anymore. I don’t feel personally dissed. It’s a fun hobby, and very social.
Hample shouldn’t have to defend what he does, and by his tone, you can tell that at one point he felt as if he had to, but has learned over time that what negative people think should not affect him. He has given so much back to the baseball world that people should learn more about him before they pass judgment and assume that he is just some random jerk stealing balls from their children at games.
Even though he has had many bad interactions at games, he has even more good ones with other fans. Often people come up to him and introduce themselves, or ask them to sign their copy of one of his books. When asked how this makes him feel, he smiled and said, “I love it. I think it’s great that something so simple that I can do that takes such little time can make people happy. I just love people in general. Generally 3 or 5 or 6 people recognize me every game. Sometimes ten people do, sometimes nobody does, but on average a few do. I don’t consider myself a celebrity though.” This is a clear indication of Hample’s modesty, for he has appeared in the media over seventy times including making appearances on talk shows such as the Rosie O’ Donnel Show, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and Late Night With Conan O’Brien shows. He has appeared in many other media outlets as well such as newspaper, magazines, and radio. Zack has made a number of famous catches which he is well known for in the baseball community such as the last Met’s home run at Shea Stadium, and Barry Bonds’ 724th home run. Hample was also was shown on Sportscenter for catching two different home runs during the last week of Old Yankee Stadium. Zack takes every opportunity he can to be interviewed, taking time out of his busy schedule to accommodate requests. He actively answers fan mail through both his personal email and blog comments.
Hample’s blog, as previously mentioned, is his main way of connecting with his followers. On this blog, he shares his story of every single game he goes to, and loads the entries with photos of the stadium from that given day, information on how he snagged each ball, and ends each entry with statistical updates of his collection, as well as charity updates. In almost every blog entry, Zack receives warm congratulations, from both fans and fellow ballhawks, such as Mateo Fischer, who on Hample’s last entry of the season said, “What a year, eh?” Zack almost always answers these comments, and the readers keep coming back, to see what he will do next.
Few can understand why exactly Zack Hample goes to so many games. He is thirty four years old now, and just set his personal record for most games in one season. There is no indication that he will slow down anytime soon, but why does he enjoy it so much?
Even when I’m not at games, I’m watching baseball on TV.” Hample described being at the games as, “I feel like a participant in a way. I don’t think I’m a player or anything like that, but I feel like an insider.
It seems that if as long as he is physically able to, he will always be trying to snag more baseballs.
This just doesn’t get old. There will always be new players, stadiums, and challenges.
When asked if he has any specific goals for the future he said, “Well now I have to go for 10,000 total balls. At this point I’m closer to 10,000 than zero. I’m still young and healthy; I’m just going to keep going.”
If hearing the number of baseballs he catches, and the money he raises for charity isn’t enough, his passion for the game is very convincing. He seems to truly enjoy telling his story and talking about baseball in general. As we were winding up with the interview, we chatted for a few extra minutes just talking about different stadiums and teams. He always makes the clear point that he is a fan of the game in general. He has somewhat of an unbiased approach when it comes to watching baseball. We talk about how he can not stand the New York stadiums because of rules, attitudes, and large crowds. The fact that Hample roots for individual players and not teams on a regular basis, in my opinion, adds to his passion of the game, and helps him view it in a way that few fans experience. I get the impression that there is not another single thing in the world that he would rather talk about than baseball. He also admitted , “I’m going to end up spending about a grand on the World Series. I wouldn’t any other year, but this year is different.” This year is indeed different because on top of all of the regular season games he attended, Hample also attended one game in every round of the playoffs. But it isn’t about the money, or the travel, or really even the numbers he achieves game after game. For Zack Hample, It’s all about his love for the game, and the passion he has felt for it since he snagged his first ball when he was 12 years old.
