Obsession

One of my best memories was going to the ballpark to watch baseball games. I always made it a point to carry my glove in the hope of catching either a home run or foul ball. While I always had my hopes, I never got the opportunity. Still, it is a rite of passage for all baseball lovers.

While I took my glove for sentimental reasons and dreams, you also have people like Zack Hample.

Hample, a self-described native New Yorker, has turned it into a business/obsession. According to his website, he has collected more than 11,000 baseballs in his tour of more than 58 different major league baseball stadiums. Some of his more famous collected baseballs include Mike Trout’s first career home run and Alex Rodriguez’s 3,000^th hit.

As for the business side, he has a YouTube channel, deals with corporate sponsors, is the author of three books and has a business in which he takes people to baseball games with the  guarantee of, wait for it, catching at least one baseball.

And don’t forget the t-shirts.

Now for the other side. His methods for getting baseballs have come under controversy. While my descriptions wouldn’t do it justice, let’s just say they have been on the more aggressive side. This behavior involves young kids. Back in 2016, he attended a game that was the first sports game played on a military base. The problem was that the game was only for Department of Defense personnel only. This did not sit well with the numbers of veterans that were in attendance. He tried to make things right by making a $100 donation to the America Veterans association for each ball he caught that night ($1,100).

He still kept one ball for his self.

On the face of it, the word obsession has a negative connotation. In the case of Zack Hample, I cannot hate the player or the game.