Alex Rodriguez won’t have to mug anyone to get the ball back from his 3,000th hit, after all.
Rodriguez is scheduled to be presented with the keepsake by Zack Hample — the ballhawk who snagged the home run Rodriguez hit off Detroit’s Justin Verlander for the milestone on June 19 — at Yankee Stadium before Friday’s game against the Rays.
Hample, who initially was adamant about not handing the ball over to Rodriguez, met with Yankee brass, including president Randy Levine and COO Lonn Trost. The Yankees agreed to donate $150,000 to Pitch In For Baseball, a charity that Hample supports.