Tag: Hample

by Jacoby Nolnaho

BP Report with Jacoby Nolnaho: 4/6/18

On April 6, 2018, I went to my first baseball game of 2018. As usual, it was the Yankees hosting the Orioles at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees have now introduced a three hour batting practice block. In other words, on select Friday home games, the gates will open three hours before game time instead of the traditional two. This is great for ballhawks like me, giving us an extra hour of opportunities to catch balls. Using the Clear Lane, I was able to get into the stadium a tad before anybody else. Only the right and left field seats were open, but I was still in luck.

Within ten minutes of getting in, a worn baseball was sitting approximately twenty feet from the wall. Yankees reliever Adam Warren was making his way to the dugout when I exclaimed, “Hey Adam, over here!” Warren turned and threw a liner right to me. I did not realize I caught the ball until I turned around and saw it in my glove. I quickly turned around and thanked Warren along with giving him a thumbs up. Later during BP, I ran into Zack Hample (once again). I did not want to bother him because he was swarmed with ten year olds, so I simply said hello and moved on.

The game was long and very slow. The game went 14 innings with the Yankees leaving lots of men on base. I was originally sitting in the Budweiser Party Deck, but as the game moved on, I transitioned to the Toyota Terrace. I was over the Yankee bullpen when Orioles hitter Pedro Alvarez launched a game winning grand slam into the right field stands. The Yankees ended up losing to a final score of 7-4.  I was happy the game ended since I was there right when the gates opened up until the final out. I was actually at Yankee Stadium well over ten hours.

Overall, I had a lot of fun and hope this game is just a beginning for good things to come in the 2018 Major League Baseball season.

by Jacoby Nolnaho

BP Report with Jacoby Nolnaho: All Good Things Come to an End

On July 31, 2017, I went to yet another Yankee game at Yankee Stadium. I got there early right when the gates opened, but there was some season ticket holder event that let other people in earlier. By the time I got in, right field was really crowded. The Yankees groups hit about ten baseballs into the home bullpen. I went over there, put my hands in the air, and got, well, “competed” by a kid. He put his thumb in my earhole, the middle finger around the earlobe, and twisted. It really hurt and I went down. I would’ve accepted it, but the kid got the ball, and I was empty. Later in BP, Zack Hample showed up. I went over to him and had a nice chat. This is the second time I’ve talked to him. I warned him about the kid, and asked him how many balls he had gotten. He only had two, and you could see he was having a rough day. I helped him out by telling him who was up at the plate. I didn’t get any balls during batting practice or during the course of the game. This ended my three game streak.

The game was very interesting and fun as the Yankees won 7-2 over the Detroit Tigers. Aaron Judge hit a home run, but sadly I missed it as I was in the bathroom. I enjoyed a milkshake from Johnny Rockets and a bowl of soup noodles from the Noodle Bowl. Even though I didn’t get I ball, I know that people are always better than possessions.

by Jacoby Nolnaho

BP Report With Jacoby Nolnaho: Zack Hample

On April 16, 2017, I went to my first game of the 2017 MLB season at Yankee Stadium. After some train mixups, delays, and cancellations, I ended up at the stadium five minutes before the gates opened. Thanks to Clear, I was able to get on the fast line and get a Peeps purple plush. They are huge! After putting the plush in my backpack, I ran down to right field. Things got off to a slow start. Tommy Layne and Tyler Clippard threw nothing into the stands. After a disappointing Yankees BP, the Cardinals took bat. My friend caught a Matt Carpenter home run and gave it to me. Later, Zack Hample showed up. For those of you who don’t know who Zack Hample is, click here. Zack and I had a nice talk. We both had our umpire hats on and red shirts. He told me he caught 8 balls today. He signed my ball. On the ball, he put 9,535. This stands for 9,535 lifetime balls. I only have four!

For the game, the Yankees won 9-3 over the Cardinals.

by Jacoby Nolnaho

Zack Hample

Zack Hample. Baseball’s most famous ballhawk. Born September 14, 1977, Hample has made quite a name for himself in the last 39 years or so. He has written three books called How to Snag Major League Baseballs, Watching Baseball Smarter, and The Baseball, but it’s Hample’s ability to snag baseballs that made him famous. He has collected over 9,000 baseballs including Barry Bonds’ 724 home run, two of the last ten home runs at Yankee Stadium, the last home run hit a Shea Stadium, Mike Trout’s first career home run, Didi Gregorius’ first career homer, and most notably, Alex Rodriguez’s 3,000 hit. He posts about his ballhawking adventures on his Youtube videos, his website, and a blog called The Baseball Collecter. Hample gives some of his balls away to young children and donates his money to a charity called Pitch in for Baseball. Despite doing good, Hample got bashed when he attended the game at Fort Bragg on July 3. He gave away all but one of the balls he caught and donated money to AMVETS. Despite Zack’s controversy, many people believe he is just a fan who does good for the image of Major League Baseball.