Two security officials led the way through the Yankee Stadium crowd on Friday, and a group of reporters followed, as Zack Hample clutched the ball that was Alex Rodriguez’s 3,000th hit so tightly that his knuckles were white.
Hample took selfies with other fans. He yelled out to friends. He gladly told reporters about the thousands of balls he had caught, and his website that chronicles them all. He said he had much more to say, and then, just before he was whisked away, he snapped a picture of the reporters for his own amusement.
Hample was not exactly awe-struck.