NEW YORK — When George Lombard Jr.’s first big league home run sailed toward the left-field seats at Yankee Stadium, one of the most recognizable and divisive figures in baseball was waiting for it.
Zack Hample, the ball hawk who has turned catching home runs into a career and a lightning rod, had positioned himself perfectly. The Lombard’s ball came right to his section. It even appeared to graze the top of his glove.
Then a wall of Yankees fans swallowed it up. Hample, for all his experience, came away empty. The Lombard souvenir stayed with the Yankees crowd, and within hours the moment had gone viral for reasons that had little to do with the rookie who hit it.
For a certain slice of the fan base, Hample missing out was the best part of the night. The reaction online was immediate and gleeful, a familiar chorus that follows the collector from ballpark to ballpark.
Lombard’s 392-foot solo shot in the fifth inning of the Yankees’ 2-0 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday was the first hit of his major league career. It should have been remembered only for him. Instead, part of the story became the man who did not catch it, and the fans who made sure of it.
The Lombard ball did not go to a dealer or a professional collector. It went to a first-time visitor in a brand-new Yankees cap, and the feel-good ending only sharpened the contrast.
Who is Zack Hample
Hample is the most famous ball hawk in baseball, and among the most criticized. The 48-year-old New Yorker says he has collected more than 13,000 baseballs from major league stadiums over his lifetime, a haul that includes some genuine pieces of history.
He caught Alex Rodriguez’s 3,000th career hit, Mike Trout’s first career home run, Didi Gregorius’s first career homer and Barry Bonds’s 724th home run. He built a large YouTube following documenting the pursuit, and he runs a paid service that takes fans to games to catch balls alongside him.
The reputation is not all positive. Hample has drawn years of criticism for aggressive tactics, including accusations that he has boxed out other fans, at times children, to reach a ball. He clashed with stadium security in Colorado, was banned by one collegiate summer team, and faced backlash for attending a military-designated game at Fort Bragg.
His history with the Yankees crowd is especially loaded, and Yankees fans have long memories. When he caught Rodriguez’s milestone ball in 2015, he initially refused to hand it over before the team brokered a deal that sent a large charity donation to Pitch In For Baseball. Yankees fans have long viewed him with suspicion, and they have celebrated when he comes up short.
A familiar villain, a familiar reaction
This was not the first time the Bronx faithful cheered a Hample miss. In 2022, fans rejoiced when he failed to catch Aaron Judge’s 61st home run, a chase that gripped the sport. Tuesday added a fresh chapter to that running feud.
Video of the scramble spread quickly. In the clips, Hample is visible in the aisle, reaching up as the ball arrives, only to be beaten to it by the surrounding fans. The posts framed it as a small victory for the everyday spectator over the professional collector.
One widely shared reaction summed up the mood bluntly, declaring that Hample did not get the Lombard ball and telling everyone to rejoice. Others tipped their cap to his read on the ball even as they enjoyed the outcome. Either way, the story traveled far beyond the Bronx.
Hample has heard the boos before and kept collecting. Earlier in the same week, he had attended a Mets game across town, part of a familiar New York swing. The Yankees crowd simply made sure this particular ball was not his.
The ball found a better story
The fan who came away with theLombard ball could hardly have been a more fitting choice. Bruce Roberts, an Army veteran from Utah, snatched Lombard’s HR ball in a Yankees cap he had bought about 10 minutes earlier. He was at the game with his wife and son as a 12th birthday gift for the boy.
Roberts is not a die-hard Yankees fan. He grew up rooting for the San Francisco Giants and coaches his son’s Little League team. He had chosen outfield seats almost on a whim, hoping a ball might find them. One did.
Security soon approached and asked whether Roberts would return the ball to Lombard, whose parents were in the stands. Roberts agreed to a trade for signed baseballs and a chance to meet Lombard, and he did not hesitate.
“No-brainer,” Roberts said. “They were really generous about it.”
Lombard, dressed in sweatpants, a Yankees shirt and sandals, came out to meet the family and handed over a signed black bat. Lombard’s father, a former big leaguer, walked over to thank Roberts with a handshake and a light prediction.
“Hopefully, he’ll hit a few more,” George Lombard Sr. said, “and you guys will catch a few more.”
Roberts left with a story he never expected. He said the chance to meet a rising Yankees player made the trip unforgettable for his family.
“What a great experience,” Roberts said, “to be able to go near the clubhouse and meet somebody that’s an up-and-comer.”
Lombard said he planned to give the ball to his parents, who would likely keep it at their home in Miami. That is where the milestone will live, rather than in a collector’s vault.
The rookie, meanwhile, had a night worth remembering on its own. Lombard’s homer helped push the Yankees to 64-50 and into a tight American League East race with the Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox. The ball that marked it ended up exactly where the story wanted it, in the hands of a family that will treasure it and out of the reach of the man who nearly had it.
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