Zack Hample holds the baseball that New York Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez hit on a home run for his 3,000th career hit.
New York: The fan who retrieved the home run ball for Alex Rodriguez’s 3,000th hit on Friday night plans to keep the prized souvenir—for now.
Zack Hample, a 37-year-old baseball collector from New York, tweeted during the game that he told the New York Yankees he was keeping the ball and not giving it back to the designated hitter. The Yankees sent team president Randy Levine and chief operating officer Lonn Trost to meet with Hample, but an exchange was not been worked out.
Hample, a Yankees season-ticket holder known for snagging home run balls, claims to have caught 8,161 baseballs around the country. He has written three books, including “How To Snag Major League Baseballs.”
Hample showed his prized possession in a photo on Twitter. “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,” Hample tweeted.
Hample, who watched the ninth inning with Yankees executive Levine and Trost, said he still is considering what to do.
Koehler out with injury
Right-hander Tom Koehler is the latest Miami Marlins pitcher to miss time because of injury. Koehler was scratched from his scheduled start on Saturday because of back and neck stiffness, something he has been dealing with for a few days, according to manager Dan Jennings.
Meanwhile, Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton, the major league’s home run leader at 25, is willing to participate in the 2015 Home Run Derby. “If I’m asked, I’ll do it,” Stanton told reporters Friday before the Marlins’ 5-0 loss to the Cincinnati Reds.
Stanton was upset by Reds third baseman Todd Frazier in last year’s Home run Derby semifinals. Frazier has 22 homers this season.
Outfielder Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers, out because of a strained left hamstring, could begin a rehab assignment by the middle of next week, the Dallas Morning News reported. Hamilton, whose return to the Rangers lasted only seven games before he was injured on June 1, was scheduled to work out with the Rangers’ Double-A affiliate in Frisco, Texas, on Sunday before taking Monday off.
Edgar Martinez, who won two batting titles with the Seattle Mariners, was appointed batting coach by the team. Martinez replaced Howard Johnson, who was reassigned to the Mariners’ minor league system.
