Moving On from Zack Hample
Allow
me to preface this blog post with the following sentence: In posting this blog,
I am contributing to exactly what Zack Hample wants – an increase in following,
in celebrity. And quite frankly, more so than money, memorabilia, and anything
else Hample could get in return for Alex Rodriguez’s 3,000th hit,
that happened to be a home run, that’s all that Hample wanted – popularity and
notoriety.
Before
catching A-Rod’s 3,000th hit, Hample was that grown man that got to
ballparks hours early to collect as many baseball as he could. From catching
toss-ups from players, to running over kids to catch home runs in batting
practice, to catching actual in-game home runs, Hample has collected almost
8,000 MLB baseballs in his life.
Hample
went to Yankee Stadium on the night of June 19th with one thing on
his mind – getting A-Rod’s 3,000th hit ball. Hample was seated
perfectly, likely seated in home run alley known as section 103. That is, of
course, where he holds his season tickets.
In
order to get A-Rod’s 3,000th hit ball, Hample would need some help
from Rodriguez, himself. A-Rod would have to hit a home run for his 3,000th
career hit, and as you already know, that’s exactly what he did – on the first
pitch he saw.
Hample
was boisterous in his pre-game tweets saying that he would give A-Rod a fake
ball back if he caught it while giving him the finger, and things along those
lines. But after he caught it, Hample said it was like a dream come true.
Hample
was lucky. He was lucky that although he did not catch the home run on the fly,
it just so happened to land right at his feet while there was a frenzy of
excited Yankee fans beside him. Some fans were too excited to even look for the
ball while others searched in the wrong places.
What
do you know? The ball hawk himself kept his eye on the ball and the prize he
wanted oh-so dearly.
Almost
immediately after getting the ball, Hample boasted the ball on social media and
taunted Yankee fans. He wanted to get a rise out of people. He knew exactly how
to amp them up and how to attract media attention, from major networks to
individual Yankee blogs, like this one – and it worked.
Hample
appeared on SportsCenter, YES Network,
The Tonight Show With Jay
Leno, and many more. Hample had his
twitter followers double overnight. And in my mind, that was his main goal from
the start.
Zack
Hample wanted media attention – a lot of it – and he got it. Although it’s
taken far too long, Hample is finally doing the right thing in giving A-Rod the
baseball back.
So
yeah, Hample had his two or three weeks of fame. But now that the ball is back
in the hands of the rightful owner, it’s time we move on from the days of even
thinking about Zack Hample.
Most
fans in the ballpark wouldn’t have wanted the publicity and wouldn’t have taken
as long as Hample did to give it back. That’s why I take his gesture with a
grain of salt. Thankfully, we won’t be hearing much more from Hample in the
future, until he catches another milestone ball, of course.
Article
by: Chad Raines
Follow
me on twitter @Chad_Rain
Follow
the blog on twitter @BronxBomberBlog
Comments
Post a Comment