The Yankees are donating $150,000 to Hample’s Pitch in for Baseball campaign (a charity dedicated to providing new and gently used baseball and softball equipment to kids around the world) and will also reportedly give him tickets among other memorabilia and perks. In the minds of the Yankees, the home run milestones have lost all their luster due to the fact that some part of those dingers were PED induced.
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His 3000th came off of Detroit start, Justin Verlander for a homewrun, on June 19th at Yankee Stadium. “I think everybody in this room, if people are honest, would admit to saying at least one or two or maybe even 100 stupid things in their life that they wish they could take back, and for me that was my moment”. Whether or not it’ll have much effect on his place in the history of the game remains to be seen, but it is a sizable step forward in the near-term.
Smiling warmly, A-Rod granted Hample absolution.
“First of all, you’re forgiven”, Rodriguez said.
Hample has collected more than 8,100 balls during batting practice and games.
Zack Hample, the man who caught Alex Rodriguez’s 3,000th hit, originally planned on keeping the milestone souvenir.
“Catching baseballs is my way of connecting to the sport”, he said. And to do this with the Yankees, the union and the commissioner’s office, I am just very proud of us doing the right thing in this situation, and I am especially happy to have the ball back and to share it with my daughters.
Hample isn’t coming away empty-handed. In a since-deleted Twitter post, Hample described what he would do if he met Rodriguez. The 39-year-old totals 669 home runs, and 2,014 RBI’s with a career average of.299. Rodriguez said.
Own The ConversationAsk The Big Question: How is it statistically possible that Zack Hample has caught so many baseballs?
While the Yankees’ slugger said his main priority throughout was to make certain some good came out of the ordeal, he reflected Friday on how fortunate he was to be in the position at all.
Speaking at the conference, Rodriguez said: ‘This has been quite a year.
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“Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association jointly announced today that the New York Yankees and Alex Rodriguez have amicably resolved their potential dispute regarding Rodriguez’s entitlement to bonus monies under the provision of his player contract covering historical statistical accomplishments”. He became the second player to record his 3,000th career hit with the Yankees, joining Derek Jeter, who accomplished the feat on July 9, 2011 against Tampa Bay.
