Zack Hample returned Mike Trout’s first career home run ball for almost nothing. He’s not about to do the same with Alex Rodriguez’s 3,000th career hit.
Hample, who catches and collects baseballs at games (and even has written books on the subject), snagged A-Rod’s historic ball Friday night when it sailed into Yankee Stadium’s right field stands for a home run.
Hample quickly declared his intentions on Twitter.
[tweet https://twitter.com/zack_hample/status/612061267122102272 align=”center”]
Naturally, that didn’t sit well with Yankees fans, who berated him on Twitter, but Hample explained himself when the New York media pounced.
“A-Rod’s got to pay the piper!” Hample told NJ.com, after he said the Yankees offered him memorabilia, a chance to meet A-Rod and tickets for the ball.
“He doesn’t deserve any favors,” Hample said. “I never dreamed I’d be in this position. Maybe I’ll sell it. A-Rod can certainly come and bid on it if he wants. If I decide to keep it, A-Rod is welcomed to visit me in my apartment. He can look at the ball. We’ll take some pictures together. Go play catch in Central Park a little bit.
“A-Rod might hate me like he has plenty of his own haters out there. Again, my decision to keep it isn’t to prove a point or to get back. It’s nothing like that.”
Hample, a Yankees season-ticket holder, added he’s a A-Rod fan who was crushed by the slugger’s admitted steroid use. So maybe this is payback.
UPDATE (12:30 a.m. ET): Hample might be softening his stance. He watched the ninth inning of the game with Yankees president Randy Levine and chief operating officer Lonn Trost, and told The Associated Press he’s considering what to do.
“Now, I’m thinking about it,” Hample said, adding: “There’s no right thing to do. I want to enjoy the moment.”
Hample later tweeted a similar sentiment to his 5,700 followers.
[tweet https://twitter.com/zack_hample/status/612112818167545856 align=”center”]
Thumbnail photo via Twitter/@zack_hample
