Zack Hample Tropicana field
"It's sort of like my own version of fantasy baseball," Hample said.
He says he caught Barry Bonds 724th career home run in 2006, top prospect Mike Trout's first career dinger, as well as the last Mets home run ever hit at Shea Stadium.
Hample says he uses strategies, like always getting to the stadium early for batting practice, as well as changing clothes from Blue Jays gear to a Rays hat, depending on who he is trying to get a ball from.
He also knows how to ask for a ball in multiple languages.
At last count Hample is up to 5,335 baseballs, including seven from his first game at Tropicana Field this week.
"I'd rank this as a fairly tough ballpark for catching baseballs," pointing out during the week, fans are only allowed into the seating area 90 minutes before game time, limiting access to batting practice balls.
At the same time, though, he says Rays fans have an advantage because of all the empty seats.
"It really reduces the amount of competition," Hample said.
His next stop is a Florida Marlins game this weekend, as he tries to hit at 30 stadiums by the end of the year.
"I'm going for 1,000 balls this season alone," Hample explained.
He claims he's currently on a streak of more than 700 games in a row getting at least one ball.
Hample is now catching baseballs for charity, raising $17,000 the past three seasons.
His goal is to eventually snag 10,000 baseballs, a record that will be hard for anyone to catch.
Source: wtsp
