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Zack Hample

Biography

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. Hample wrote part-time for minorleaguebaseball.com from 2005 to 2007 and contributed the foreword for MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL: AN INTERACTIVE GUIDE TO THE WORLD OF SPORTS in 2008. His third book, tentatively titled THE BASEBALL: FIVE OUNCES AND 108 STITCHES OF GLORY, will be published by Vintage Books in March 2011. As of March 11, 2009, Hample has collected 3,820 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, snagged 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 ATT Park. 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 recognized him from the previous game, and within the next 24 hours the story was covered by ESPN, CBS, NBC, FOX, CNN International, and many other media outlets. Yahoo! Sports initially acknowledged Hample's snagging skills, but did not know that it was him who made the catches. On September 28, 2008, Hample caught the last ever New York Mets home run hit at Shea Stadium, this one hit by Carlos Beltran. On October 8, Hample made an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Prior to his three notable home run catches of 2008, he had been featured on The Rosie O'Donnell Show, the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric, and on an episode of the John O'Hurley version of the game show To Tell The Truth, during which he managed to trick the audience and two of the four celebrities. Hample, a competitive video game player, appeared briefly in the 2007 documentary The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters. According to Twin Galaxies, he holds official world records on half a dozen classic video games including Breakout (896 points) and Arkanoid (1,658,110 points).

Zack Hample

Books by Zack Hample

by Zack Hample - Entertainment, Nonfiction, Sports

Whether you’re a major league couch potato, life-long season ticket-holder, or teaching game to a beginner, WATCHING BASEBALL SMARTER leaves no territory uncovered. In this smart and funny fan’s guide Hample explains the ins and outs of pitching, hitting, running and fielding, while offering insider trivia and anecdotes that will surprise even the most informed viewers of our national pastime.