Zack Hample's photos

THE PLACE TO LEARN ABOUT BASEBALL -- AND HOW TO SNAG ONE AT A MAJOR LEAGUE GAME

In the beginning...

1977 six days old with my mom with my dad seven weeks old snoozing with my dad at the window with my cousin Nicho with my aunt Judy


1978 wearing yellow pajamas with my grandma Ruth and grandpa Lou (my mother's parents) with my grandma Helen (my father's mother) with my dad in Puerto Rico with my mom in a kiddie pool at the beach playing with a stuffed animal now THAT'S a hose... rosy cheeks first step ever standing behind a fence singing to my dad cousin Ben grabs my nuts and makes me cry sand on my hands


1979 learning to sail MTV Cribs "Up to the ceilin' and up to the sky!" grabbing my dad's nose pinching a loaf sans diapers swinging jumping on bubble wrap another extreme sport inspecting a grown-up toy in the park first haircut



1980 happiness grabbing my mom's face on a sailboat cute/generic pose #1 wearing denim in Central Park attempting to eat spaghetti amused by my dad skinny-dipping in East Hampton playing in nursery school playing with shaving cream at the beach


1981 with my dad on the lawn at my grandparents' place on a swing in Riverside Park my first girlfriend cute/generic pose #2 up to no good flying a kite at the beach on a ladder nursery school class photo petting a horse feeding a llama walking with my mom overseeing the construction of a country house Who needs pants when you have a popsicle? lying on top of my half-sister Martha dressed in a self-made costume for Purim

1982 nursery school class photo riding the north ferry to Shelter Island with my friend Sean with my dad in upstate NY Camp Hillard group photo heavy hitter despite the rigid batting stance rookie card, near mint playing mini-golf swimming class playing the ukulele fascinated as my dad shaves not happy about being forced to wear a life jacket working the overhead bars riding my dad's shoulders perched in a tree above my mom

1983 learing to play the violin big smile with a missing tooth walkie-talkie lifting something heavy kindergarten class photo portrait taken after the group shot with my mom on a cannon with my dad in his studio eating outdoors macho man playing pick-up-sticks laughing my ass off first day of 1st grade wrapped in towels after a bath balancing my baseball bat

1984 with some girl bored at breakfast with the grown-ups with my mom in Zuoz, Switzerland in the Swiss Alps laughing and holding my ears even more missing teeth 1st grade class photo graceful follow-through after swinging a racquet with my rubber band ball and (psycho) first cat named Miyo running from a wave at the beach Twister! Yeah! flinging a garbage bag at the dump looking like a bully in this otherwise innocent ferry scene at the pool with my cousin Ben my opinion of the Yankees

1985 arts and crafts in my room 2nd grade class photo with Mrs. Heyward, my 2nd grade teacher posing at the bottom of a water slide using my half-brother Joe as a lawn chair Is that Wade Boggs' silhouette on my shirt? with my dad in Florida with my dad in a teeny sailboat strangling my mom with love my dad refers to a loud boat as "a motorized penis" holding a dead horseshoe crab ice cream birthday with a friend at a baseball field on the ferry the obsession with balls taking shape

1986 with my mom in Acapulco, Mexico horseback riding floating in the pool lounging poolside golf practice with my dad holding my balls on a ledge digging a hole on the beach yet another ferry photo with my friend Noah on Shelter Island Mazda & Mizuno 3rd grade class photo with my friend Jonathan in Riverside Park hugging a gigantic winter squash Collegiate School = scarring See what I mean?

1987 being chased in a game of tag dressed badly in Arizona dressed even worse in Arizona window seat at Shea Stadium, three years before I snagged my first ball with my dad at Shea Stadium with my mom at the beach lying in the sand drinking orange juice on a boat playing with my cats total bad-ass 4th grade class photo skiing in Colorado at the bottom of the slope bathtub hilarity

1988 with my mom in Key West juggling 5th grade class photo at Baseball U.S.A. Camp in New Jersey official Zack Hample baseball card with my grandma Ruth and grandpa Lou Why am I sitting at the kids' table?! general silliness with my friend Ken with Ken on the ferry with my parents on the ferry learning how to tie a tie Moving Up Day -- adios, 5th grade hitting a ball off a tee duet with my half-brother Henry with Henry, my grandparents, and my mom


1989 fast asleep while my cat Shadow protects me 6th grade class photo getting fresh with my mom dressed up with my parents Moving Up Day -- adios, Collegiate near the tennis courts at Camp Kenwood making something that resembles pottery with one of my camp counselors swingers in a pile of leaves with my friend Richard holding my rubber band ball eating


1990 on a frozen lagoon with my mom my one attempt at playing ice hockey playing Nintendo with friends happy Chanukah to me old enough to be annoyed by Disney mascots 7th grade class photo bathtub fauxhawk in my cabin at sleepaway camp balance beam go ahead, touch me like you mean it, I won't tell... yet another another ferry photo worst outfit of all time "Yeah baby, that's right, you know what I like." Mets towel


1991 with friends on a 14-foot trampoline heading off to play basketball 8th grade class photo more trampoline action (and tough-guy acting) hanging out in the press box at Fenway Park with Red Sox public address announcer Sherm Feller posing with one of the first baseballs I ever snagged taking some cuts in a batting cage first time shaving with Steve Mandl (Manny Ramirez's H.S. baseball coach) acting all serious with my dad . . . . . . and being forced into hysterics monents later another fauxhawk


1992 with Bucky Dent at his baseball school in Florida taking more cuts in a different batting cage 9th grade class photo ready for takeoff visiting day at Camp Manitou in Canada standing around on the Manitou baseball field stretching on the baseball field with my dad at the Manitou waterfront wishing the path near my cabin were a baseball field with my mom on the main lawn with my mom in the cabin clipping my toenails in the rental car back at camp with some much-needed toiletries digging myself into a hole in the Caribbeean my reaction when coming up for air and seeing the camera

1993 10th grade class photo using the rubber band ball for my math fair project outside Candlestick Park inside Candlestick Park posing with nearly all 287 of my baseballs my idea of dressing up shortly before I weighed 205 pounds with Mike Torres with my cousin Spencer outside Veterans Stadium before Game 5 of the World Series trying very very very very very hard to be cool (and failing) about to give my dad the ride of his life about to give Damon Wayans a whiff of my armpit


1994 11th grade class photo another stupid math fair, another fun project at Damaschke Field, home of the Oneonta Tigers taking BP at the empty (and unlocked) Damaschke Field dressed up funny face playing summer ball with the Bayside Royal-Cardinals stretching at Shea Stadium before a Mets tryout trying to kick my dad's ass and failing, apparently


1995 12th grade class photo my senior page in the yearbook in the clubhouse of the short-season Boise Hawks with Hawks pitcher Stevenson Agosto with a ladyfriend in Boise getting pantsed by my friend Jeremy on the field at Anaheim Stadium 100-pound rubber band ball with my mom atop the Eiffel Tower on a pretty street near Luxembourg Garden with my mom at Buckingham Palace getting molested by pigeons at Trafalgar Square inside the hedge maze at Hampton Court at Yankee Stadium for Game 1 of the ALDS with Amy, my (real) first girlfriend

1996 last day as an intern at the American School for the Deaf switching clothes with my dad back in Paris with my mom and trying to grow a goatee the (wannabe) goatee in full force at Shea Stadium clean shaven for summer baseball taking a lead off third base with my rubber band ball with my 1,000th baseball with the baseball crowd during a quick trip to Manitou first day at Guilford College (in North Carolina) good day at Guilford College about to head to one of many fall ball practices on the baseball field with my sort-of-almost-girlfriend Seoka general college hyperness

1997 getting taped to a chair for baseball team initiation with three nutjobs in my dorm room fake earring with my grandma Helen at her 100th birthday party in Arizona with my three siblings: Joe, Martha, and Henry with a family friend in Paris at Memorial Stadium in Boise as an orientation leader, corrupting my group of freshmen playing piano in the college talent show getting help shaving my head two girls critique the 'do on my 20th birthday explaining to a skeptical friend how the girls critiqued it with my girlfriend Alli in her dorm sexy gender-bending via Alli's hair and clothes my parents visit and imitate the pictures on my wall

1998 double date with Alli (in red) and another Guilford couple plowing through a high ropes course at Camden Yards at Three Rivers Stadium at Cinergy Field at Wrigley Field flying high above the trampoline at Jacobs Field at Comiskey Park at County Stadium at Busch Stadium third annual "Two Girls Smooch Zack" pic my dorm room heading out with Alli brief mustache while shaving off a goatee in stages

1999 mingling during my book party at the All-Star Cafe with Joe and my parents in Venice at the Kingdome with Alli posing in a bathtub full of baseballs for People Magazine at Tiger Stadium at the Ballpark in Arlington at the Astrodome (with backpack-induced sweat stains) at Network Associates Coliseum promoting my Scrabble club with Alli at the activities fair chillin' at the Metrodome on "The Rosie O'Donnell Show" in my dorm room with my Arkanoid machine teaching kids how to steal baseballs with the "glove trick" fourth annual "Two Girls Smooch Zack" pic goes awry giving a signed copy of my book to Colin Powell

2000 the night I had arrows for sideburns at Tropicana Field at Pro Player Stadium at SkyDome at Olympic Stadium at Funspot in NH for a four-day video game competition screen shots of my Arkanoid world record previous Arkanoid champ Steve Krogman congratulates me sightseeing in NYC with my Canadian friends Patty & Joy at Dodger Stadium shameless self-promotion at Qualcomm Stadium working at the National Scrabble Championship in Providence after-hours action on the biggest Scrabble board in the world at Turner Field getting girls by dressing like one on Halloween

2001 chicks dig Arkanoid crawling out of my igloo with Jeff Jeske, the best writing teacher I ever had the product of not paying attention in my other classes playing Scrabble at the college club about to get dunked my senior page in the yearbook putting my college diploma to good use graduation photo at Kauffman Stadium on a bike with my mom on Shelter Island recruiting for Guilford at a college fair more suit-and-tie action with my girlfriend Jess yelling about nothing

2002 with Al Hirschfeld geeking it up with Jess at Disney World at Coors Field at Safeco Field with my friend Joe lizard-hunting in Idaho rough-housing with a friend's kids world record on Breakout the view from the press box at Cheney Stadium in Tacoma biggest damn tree I've ever seen on the Portwalk outside Pacific Bell Park word-judging at the National Scrabble Championship in SD decorating my new apartment shaving my head even shorter laundromat dressed up for one of THOSE parties . . .

2003 with my siblings in Chinatown at Dante's View in Death Valley atypical first-date behavior Fan Photo Day at Olympic Stadium on Shelter Island with my girlfriend Olivia at Miller Park at Comerica Park with my friend Marc in a subway control tower in my underwear and eating cereal for a photo shoot this cake from Olivia was part of my best birthday ever computer reflection at work still no cell phone wearing a wig writer's block

2004 considering a new hair style with the Ripken boys visiting my old college dorm room with my old friend Rachel taking a shower on the sidewalk classic portrait via the drink tray Day 4 of the National Scrabble Championship in New Orleans with my rubber band ball at the Queens Museum of Art with friends at the beach on Shelter Island Central Park cuddle action the view at my first (and last) football game head paint teasing a dead animal with my very good friend Jules borrowing hair from my girlfriend Lia

2005 temporary headquarters of minorleaguebaseball.com the one that almost got away signing autographs after teaching 4th graders how to snag early for graduation at Guilford College with my sister in Paris plucking a ball off the warning track at Yankee Stadium Truth-or-Dare: Lia forced to "take a bath in the kitchen sink" at RFK Stadium driving from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea at Great American Ball Park at Minute Maid Park with Dusty Baker's lineup cards the writing group in Central Park playing catch from the seats with Mets pitcher Heath Bell second lifetime hockey game, first lifetime puck 200-pound rubber band ball

2006 about to swing through the Costa Rican jungle at Crobar at Camden Yards with my friend Sean and his friend Joe with Lia and friends at a warehouse party playing catch with my dad in upstate NY not my hat heading to Black's Beach for a much needed tan sunset at the beach at PETCO Park moments after catching Barry Bonds' 724th career home run working at the Argosy Book Store being filmed by CBS outside Citizens Bank Park playing with my new camera one of many uses for 800 baseballs dancing in Brooklyn

2007 on a frozen lake in Putnam Valley, NY forced by my friends to wear a pink du-rag two book signings in two days 3,000th ball at Yankee Stadium at Busch Stadium with my girlfriend Jona in a photo booth yes, I went out in public looking like this at home with "King of Kong" star Billy Mitchell dressed badly to be spotted on TV at AT&T Park leaving Harry Potter in the dust TV interview with five hours of sleep and a sore throat at Chase Field with my 21st ball of the day (!!) silliness at the lake recreating the bathtub scene for Sports Illustrated with Jona (and pervy Elmo) on Halloween

2008 Citi Field construction — 13 months to go my teeth first day in my new apartment last day in my old apartment after tearing down the pictures group photo + awesome view at Nationals Park with my 28th ball of the day (?!) at Champion Stadium half-bathroom fully decorated with Jona at PNC Park about to be interviewed by Julie Chen on the "Early Show" screen shot from my "Tonight Show" appearance recreating the World Series photo from 1993 pyramid of baseballs with Jona on the eastern coast of Ireland

2009 roofdeck with my friend Leon Feingold at the NYC Scrabble club Taiwanese translation of Watching Baseball Smarter press release for my charity work post-game blogging at the Rogers Centre hotel my first game at Citi Field my first game at the new Yankee Stadium live interview during a Royals game visiting Pitch In For Baseball's warehouse rubbing mud on game balls with the Phillies' equipment manager inside the manual scoreboard at Coors Field skydiving with Jona after skydiving at the MLB Network studios taking batting practice at PNC Park

2010 23rd Street and 5th Avenue 5-foot-11 vs. 7-foot-3 month-long transformation of my fingernails giving a speech to the high school at Friends Seminary at Target Field celebrating at Camden Yards after snagging two home runs in a rowboat with Jona at Hiram Bithorn Stadium with Jona at the beach in Puerto Rico with Jona in Old San Juan the July 4th crowd freaking out with Jona on a rollercoaster stitching a baseball at the Rawlings factory in Costa Rica making the holiday party less boring post-blizzard with my friend Maria Maggenti

2011 talk to the hand with Martha and my mom in Barbados jet skiing pissing on some sugar cane with friends on a frozen lake; I'm on the left shocked by the force of a 12-gauge shotgun cementing my legacy as the ultimate man-child about to be interviewed in the CNN newsroom with a fan and my 5,000th ball at Rogers Centre with Heath Bell post-game at Fenway Park Bud Selig holding my book at an All-Star Game after-party tour bus 1 season, 30 stadiums with my girlfriend Robin at a flea market destroying the Arkanoid high score at Barcade in Jersey City

2012 sexy beard with Robin at the Brooklyn Museum more fun with facial hair goofing around with my uncle George with Martha and my mom at the Tokyo Dome high above Kinosaki-Onsen and the Sea of Japan ice cream ready for the bathhouse with Neil deGrasse Tyson at the Argosy Book Store outside Marlins Park -- my 50th major league stadium catching a baseball dropped from a helicopter 762 feet high making out with Robin after catching a Raul Ibanez home run decorating my apartment with magazines meanwhile, in Little Italy . . . washing my windows

2013 jumping off a big-ass rock in Hawaii snorkeling at Molokini walking on the beach boogie boarding a serious moment at ACME Studio in Brooklyn TV interview at PETCO Park

writing group...