“Anywhere from I mean, I'd say on average 100 to 200 people per game come up to me in the seats and recognize me, and over the course of a season, I'm interacting with 1000s and 1000s of fans.”
Zack Hample vs. The World is a new documentary from Jeff Siegel that breaks down the phenomenon that Hample is. He’s a writer, YouTuber, and perhaps the most notorious collector of baseballs (over 11,000 total) of all time, which he has been catching from the stands of MLB games for decades. Simply put, Hample is a ballhawk.
“It's kind of a strange word because a hawk is a predatory animal. But ball hawking is a term that's been around for a long time, since even before me because there are some old-school guys who've been doing this for a while. But it's just the idea of, you know, a fan that goes to games and tries to catch baseballs in the seats. So that's the basic overview. And of course, this has turned into a lifelong hobby slash obsession for me, for better or worse… it gets me into trouble sometimes. But yet, it's just absolutely so much fun.”
Hample has been loved, he’s been hated, and he recently sat down with Movieweb to discuss the documentary.
The Documentary Gets to Know Zack Hample
Siegel does an excellent job of masterfully telling Hample’s story. Contradictory insights into his life are provided by interviewees, allowing viewers to reconcile and develop a perspective of the full picture.
“I'm so used to doing radio interviews where it's, you know, morning talk show, and it's six minutes, or it's an article, and it's 300 words or even 1000 words. But you can't even get close to getting into the story behind the story. And this documentary is like inception. It's like the story behind the story behind the story times 10.” Explained Hample.
There’s the inclusion of archival footage of Hample as a toddler, footage of his appearance on late-night television with Conan O'Brien, all woven with inspirational, charitable, and villainous tones.
“Every story needs a villain. And unfortunately, sometimes that villain has been me. With the whole A-Rod 3000th hit thing… I was the bad guy.”
The Controversy Around A-Rod's 3000th Hit
If you’re at an MLB game and catch a ball from the stands, it’s worth the expense for them to let you keep it in the likelihood of creating a lifelong fan. However, not every ball has the same value. This is outlined in the documentary by examining the controversy behind when Hample caught Alex Rodriguez’s 3000th hit. A-Rod wanted the ball back, Hample didn’t want to part with it, and MLB fans were furious.
“I try to channel the words of a Hall of Fame baseball player, Reggie Jackson, who famously said, ‘Fans don't boo nobodies.’ It’s like people say, ‘If you're not pissing anyone off, then you haven't done anything noteworthy.' Certainly I would love for everybody to like me. But it's not realistic… I shrug it off."
The ball was eventually given back to A-Rod, reciprocated with a signed Rodriguez bat and jersey, but most importantly, a $150,000 donation from the Yankees to Pitch In For Baseball, a charity that Hample has been a longtime supporter of.
“What they do is provide equipment to kids and communities all over the world to help kids play ball. And the Yankees ended up donating $150,000 to this baseball, and softball charity, which is covered extensively in the documentary. People can see how that all went down. And it feels great to be able to give something back to kids in the baseball world… And actually, a portion of the proceeds from this documentary will be going to that charity. So, anybody out there who's even on the fence about watching this thing, just know that you're going to be helping kids play ball if you watch this movie.”
Hample on MLB Support
Zack Hample vs. The World also includes footage of the Rawlings baseball factory in Costa Rica, which the MLB helped send Hample to in 2010.
“It's amazing to have MLB on my side, I've worked with them on and off over the years, I wrote for minor league baseball.com for three seasons, and I actually had an email address that ended with @mlb.com which was really exciting.”
And the support doesn’t stop there. There's documentary footage on the official MLB YouTube channel, they’ve featured him on various other media platforms, “and they helped with a book I was writing… To have recognition from them really does feel great.”
Zack Hample vs. The World is available now on various streaming platforms. Jeff Siegel wrote, directed, and produced the documentary which features interviews with Heath Bell and Jared Diamond.
As for Zack Hample, you can catch him on social media, on his YouTube channel, and catching balls from the stands at MLB games.