Zack Hample(Guilford College) gets A-Rod’s ball after hit #3,000 and he won’t be giving it back

*****””The King of the Baseball Collectors”, adds another to his arsenal.*****

Former Guilford College Quaker baseball player Zack Hample caught the ball after Alex Rodriguez’ 3,000th hit and he won’t be giving it back….Hample who played baseball for the Quakers as a freshman out of New York and he was something like 6-14/.429 at the plate for Guilford, Hample has over 8,000 baseballs that he has collected from batting practice and from the actual in-game action and he is one of the most dedicated baseball collectors of all-time….

Here is just a sample of what Hample has been able to come up with over the years:
(from Hample’s web site and part of an question and answer session with “The King of the Collectors”)….

Have you ever caught a historic ball?
Yes. My top three are Mike Trout’s first major league homer, Barry Bonds’ 724th career homer, and the final Mets home run (thank you, Carlos Beltran) ever hit at Shea Stadium. I also caught Derek Jeter’s 3,262nd career hit (a homer in the bottom of the 9th inning at Yankee Stadium), and I snagged the ball that Mariano Rivera pitched to complete his 313th career save — random, I know.

What did you do with these balls? Did you sell them?
I gave back the Trout ball — no questions asked, except to actually be the person to hand it to him after the game. (Security didn’t want to let me. They said it was get-away day and that the Angels had to catch a bus to the airport. I was like, “Okay, fine, in that case, I’ll just keep the ball,” and whaddaya know, the bus was somehow able to leave two minutes later.) I still have all the others. Despite what the Washington Nationals would like you to believe, I’ve never sold a ball in my life.

Read more here on Hample saying he has had ample time to think about it and he won’t be giving the ball back to A-Rod…..CLICK HERE

+++++Hample on his playing days at Guilford College with the Quakers+++++:
What position did you play?
Third base and scoreboard operator (and team scapegoat). Before college I was a starting shortstop and usually batted third or fourth, so it was tough to suddenly be invisible on a team whose coach wasn’t terribly concerned with winning and losing.