FORT BRAGG, N.C. — A guy who makes a living collecting baseballs at MLB stadiums drew the ire of the internet when he attended a military-ID-only game at Fort Bragg.
On Sunday, the Miami Marlins and Atlanta Braves met at the one-night-only ballpark on the North Carolina military base.
Tickets to the game were supposed to be nontransferable, and they were only given to Department of Defense members and their families.
But somehow Zack Hample got his hands on one. Hample, who most famously caught Alex Rodriguez's 3,000 hit, posted on his Twitter account about the experience.
It wasn't until he wrote about snagging one of those commemorative balls, though, that the internet ire set in.
Fort Bragg commemorative baseballs? Oh yes! Martin Prado just tossed this to me after the 3rd inning. pic.twitter.com/OQoGJfExbR
— Zack Hample (@zack_hample) July 4, 2016
Many commenters on Twitter suggested he give any balls he caught to kids and leave the game immediately.
@zack_hample Zack, that game CLOSED to NON department of Defense Employees and their family. Give any balls u have to kids and leave. NOW.
— Marlins_Man (@Marlins_Man) July 4, 2016
The 82nd Airborne Division, which is based at Fort Bragg, got in on it, too.
But from the looks of it, Hample stayed for the entirety of the game.
The 38-year-old said he got the ticket through a friend, donated $100 to charity for every ball caught and gave 10 of the 11 balls he snagged to kids.
I am deeply sorry for going to Fort Bragg. There's lots of misinformation, so here's what really happened: pic.twitter.com/nld9YgGXAe
— Zack Hample (@zack_hample) July 4, 2016
The ball collector said he was excited to be in attendance at his 52nd MLB stadium. Hample has reportedly caught about 9,000 balls over his lifetime.
This video includes clips from ESPN and Fox Sports and images from Getty Images.
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