Ballhawk Zack Hample catches A-Rod's 3,000th hit and plans on keeping it

Alex Rodriguez’s historic 3,000th hit ended up in the hands of a famous home-run ballhawk, and some Yankees fans aren't very happy about it.

Zack Hample, who boasts that he has caught over 8,000 major-league baseballs, came away with Rodriguez’s milestone first-inning home run ball to right field in section 103 — just below where the Bleacher Creatures sit. The 37-year-old New Yorker says he became a Yankees season-ticket holder last year and picked the right field area because it’s a "good spot."

Here's A-Rod's 3,000th hit/ball. Told the @Yankees I'm keeping it. Got it authenticated by @MLB. This is un-REAL. pic.twitter.com/qEo2qX9Iru

— Zack Hample (@zack_hample) June 20, 2015

As he was being escorted by security to a private area for negotiation, Hample didn’t sound like a guy who was going to make it easy for the Yankees.

“My intention all along, imagining this scenario as a one-in-a-million, was not to give it back,” Hample said. “Just because – the guy who got Jeter’s 3,000th hit, a lot of people called him an idiot. A lot of people said that he was a wonderful person and extremely generous, and I really think whatever you want to do with it is your choice. I think that someone like Derek Jeter or Alex Rodriguez, who’s made half-a-billion dollars in their career, doesn’t really need a favor from a normal civilian, a fan like me.

“I don’t know right now if I’m gonna sell it,” Hample continued. “Depending on what the Yankees could offer, I would consider giving it back. I don’t plan to give it back for a chance to meet him and four autographed bats, because I don’t collect bats. I collect baseballs. Just having this ball is so meaningful to me, and I can’t believe that I got it.”

Hample’s website says he’s on a mission to snag baseballs for a non-profit charity called Pitch In For Baseball, which provides baseball equipment to underprivileged kids around the world. However, some of the Bleacher Creatures regulars don’t see Hample in the same light.

“That guy’s a d-bag!” said Bald Vinny, leader of the Creatures. “That guy sucks. He pushes little kids out of the way. He is the worst ever. That guy is the worst ever. There is literally – nobody worse could’ve gotten that home run ball than that f---ing guy. He’s a d-bag.

“Tell him I said, ‘F--k off,’” he added. “That guy sucks.”

On Thursday, Hample was asked on Twitter if he’d give Rodriguez the ball back if he caught a home run for Rodriguez’s 3,000th hit. Hample replied, “I’ll give him the finger and a dummy ball. That man deserves favors from no one, least of all a fan.”

Tonight Twitter is blowing up with mostly criticisms of the notorious ball hog.

Please god tell me Zach Hample didn’t catch the A-Rod homer. Please

— Rob Iracane (@iracane) June 20, 2015

No one likes you, @zack_hample because no one likes a grown man who brings his glove to MLB games. https://t.co/BJyOZMZOoV

— Neil Keefe (@NeilKeefe) June 20, 2015

Don Mattingly finally gets Bleacher Creatures roll call at Yankee Stadium

Don Mattingly ended his 14-year playing career with the Yankees in 1995. Yankee Stadium's Bleacher Creatures started their roll call tradition in 1997. When the Dodgers visited the Yankees on Wednesday, Mattingly -- now Los Angeles's manager -- finally had the chance to hear his name shouted in the roll call.

The Creatures have welcomed back other former Yankees (including Johnny Damon and Nick Swisher), but this was different. To "Bald Vinny" Milano, leader of the roll call, honoring Mattingly was "one of the most awesome things" the Creatures have ever done.

After the first pitch in the bottom of the first, the denizens of section 203 chanted "Donnie Baseball" over and over again. Mattingly appreciated the gesture.

"When I was here they never did that, so it was pretty cool," the Dodgers skipper said after the game.



Here's the uncensored version close-up from the bleachers.

Brian Cashman joins Bleacher Creatures in disguise

When Brian Cashman's eight-year-old son Teddy wants to sit in the bleachers at Yankee Stadium and participate in the famous role call before the game starts— the New York Yankees general manager can make it happen.  Even if the older Cashman has to wear a disguise.

Cashman has rappelled down skyscrapers and filed charges against a stalker but venturing into the den of the Bleacher Creatures might be his most dangerous stunt yet.

Wearing fake spiked hair, a blue visor and sunglasses, Cashman and his son were in the bleachers at the beginning of the Yankees 6-2 win over the Detroit Tigers on Sunday.  They were able to watch the traditional player intro without any commotion.

Cashman, according to ESPN, was spotted by a popular Bleacher Creature called Bald Vinny before the game.  The Yankees fan then asked the GM if he wanted to come up to the bleachers for the first time and Cashman accepted the offer.  The GM wanted his son "to experience a big part of Yankees tradition now."

Even one inning in the Yankee Stadium bleachers is a memorable experience for anyone and, for Cashman and his son, this was no exception.

"He is officially a Bleacher Creature, he can tell his friends," Cashman said.  "It's a big part of Yankee Stadium tradition."

After hanging with the commoners, Cashman and Teddy could just go watch the game from his boring office— which overlooks the whole stadium.

I just want to know why Cashman just happened to be carrying around a wig anyway.