Notorious baseball fan shares his thoughts on Blue Jays' stadium renovations
Controversial baseball fan Zack Hample has made a name for himself by amassing an enormous collection of game balls from MLB ballparks, a years-long mission that has earned him much criticism along the way.
Fans have denounced Hample as “the most hated fan in baseball,” a “despised MLB fan,” and even “the most hated man on the internet.”
But he is perhaps best known as “the guy who steals home run balls from children,” as he was called in a viral video captured this week that underscores his controversial reputation with baseball fans.
Hample has insisted that he doesn’t trample over children to retrieve baseballs, a real sentence I actually just had to type with my hands and brain.
The polarizing content creator recently visited Toronto to see the latest round of renovations at the Rogers Centre and had some critical words about the $400 million upgrades.
Following the formula of a typical Zack Hample video, the creator can be seen running through the stadium’s outfield and foul sections, acrobatically leaping over seats to score an addition to his huge collection, all while children can be seen simply hoping for one errant ball that could create a lasting memory.
As for Hample’s take on the renovations, he says that the organization did a “tremendous” job with the upgrades but complains that it might actually be “too nice.”
Hample criticizes the addition of new areas reserved for premium seating, saying, “I realize that what I’m about to say is complete fantasy, but I just wish that everybody could have access to every part of the stadium.”
This was about the part of the video where I faced the horrifying realization that I was agreeing with Zack Hample.
“When teams start putting in premium seats everywhere, it’s just a less enjoyable experience for the folks who are often the biggest fans and can’t afford it.”
“I wandered over to this spot, yet another premium area where most fans can’t go. So that’s annoying,” added Hample in a weirdly relatable critique on the renos.
Say what you will about his whole ball collector schtick, but the guy makes a solid point noting that the 100 Level is now littered with premium seating areas and lounges that are inaccessible to the common fans — or people trying to score foul balls.
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