Philadelphians were in postseason form at Tuesday’s midsummer classic, where the Phillies faithful booed a wide range of hated rivals from All-Stars to mascots Mr. and Mrs. Met.
Even Zack Hample, perhaps baseball’s most notorious fan, caught some verbal shrapnel.
Known for hawkishly tracking down more than 13,000 foul balls, home runs and discarded baseballs at MLB parks, the 48-year-old added two more to his collection as the American League pulled out a 4-0 All-Star Game victory.
After Hample made one of his acquisitions in the fifth inning, irate Philadelphians were seen showering the 48-year-old author and YouTuber with boos as he showed off his prize to the crowd.
One irate fan actually got up from his seat to boo directly into Hample’s ear while giving a performative ‘thumbs down’ signal. Hample responded as the man returned to his seat, although it’s not clear what was said. The Daily Mail has sought comment from Hample.
But for all of the abuse Hample took at Citizens Bank Park, things were only worse on X, where fans have attacked his methods for years.
Notorious fan Zack Hample added two more balls to his collection over the All-Star break
‘People paying good money to have this lunatic climb over them for a foul ball,’ one angry fan wrote on X.
‘He should probably travel with security in Philly,’ read one joke.
‘The hate he gets is not right,’ another joke began, ‘he deserves more.’
Hample did get some support from Barstool Sports’ Dave Portnoy, who called the divisive fan ‘one of the great misunderstood geniuses of our generation.’
Still, many more criticized Hample, including one who called him the ‘thief of all joy.’
Hample has long denied pushing over rivals for balls. And while he admitted to reaching in front of others for balls when he was younger, Hample insisted on his website that he no longer engages in that behavior.
Still, even as an adult, Hample is never far away from controversy. In addition to taking criticism for his tenacious pursuit of baseballs, he’s also been accused of committing fan interference by reaching onto the field to catch a live ball.
Hample (in gray) had his mitt on in left-center field as Paris’ deep fly reached the wall
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The latest incident occurred in 2025 at Tampa’s George M. Steinbrenner Field, the New York Yankees spring training facility where the Rays played home games last season after Tropicana Field suffered hurricane damage.
With Tampa Bay’s Shane Baz on the mound, Los Angeles Angels second baseman Kyren Paris launched a deep fly to left center, where Hample easily reached over the wall and snagged the would-be out from Rays left fielder Christopher Morel.
Umpires went to video review but didn’t find enough evidence of fan interference to overturn Paris’ third homer of the young season. Unfortunately for the Rays, that proved to be the difference in the game as they fell, 4-3, to open their 13-game homestand.
Hample has described himself as a pro at catching home run balls, and has even written books on the subject, in addition to making appearances on NBC’s Tonight Show.
In 2013, the Yankees season-ticket holder caught two home runs in a single game. And two years later, he was in the Bronx to catch Alex Rodriguez’s 3,000th hit – a home run to the right-field bleachers.
‘I looked down and the ball was at my feet,’ he told The Associated Press at the time. ‘It ricocheted, and it was almost touching my shoe.’
Zack Hample is pictured on Jay Leno’s Tonight Show back in 2008
Hample poses for a photo with Alex Rodriguez #13 of the New York Yankees after giving Rodriguez the ball from his 3,000th hit at Yankee Stadium on July 3, 2015 in the Bronx
Hample did not immediately surrender that ball despite pleas from the Yankees organization, who had a much easier time retrieving Derek Jeter’s 3,000th hit years earlier.
‘My intention all along, I’ve been imagining this scenario as a one-in-a-million, was not to give it back,’ Hample told reporters. ‘You know, just because the guy who got [Derek] Jeter’s 3,000th hit, a lot of people called him an idiot. A lot of people said that he was a wonderful person and extremely generous. And I really think that, whatever you want to do with it is your choice.
‘I think that someone like Derek Jeter or Alex Rodriguez, who has made half a billion dollars in his career, doesn’t really need a favor from a normal civilian and a fan like me. I don’t know right now if I’m going to sell it. I mean, depending on what the Yankees could offer, I would consider giving it back.
‘I’m not giving it back for — I don’t plan to give it back for a chance to meet him and full autographed bats because I don’t collect bats, I collect baseballs. Just having this ball is so meaningful to me. I can’t believe that I got it.’
Ultimately Hample gifted the ball to Rodriguez and the Yankees donated $150,000 to Pitch In For Baseball, a charity supported by the notorious ballhawk.
