It is my firm belief that whenever someone goes to a Major League Baseball game, they are secretely hoping to bring home a free souvenir. Some people – especially children – are a bit more upfront about it. Ferris Bueller and Zack Morris have each caught a foul ball. Heck, even I caught one.

I was probably a sophomore in high school. I went to a Blue Jays-Mariners game with my family in Toronto. We generally went to one game every summer during when I was still living at home.

The Sky Dome wasn’t very crowded (big surprise, right?), so my brother and I kept moving around the stands, hoping to catch a foul ball. At some point during the game, we found ourselves down the 1st base line, in foul territory about 50 feet from the foul pole.

While we were sitting there, Ken Griffey Jr. came up to bat. Suddenly, the kid with the sweetest swing in the history of baseball roped a line drive foul – right to where we were sitting. I had no time to think, so I just stood up and watched the ball come at me like a rocket. I followed the ball all the way into my glove as I leaned over a row of seats and caught the ball.

Needless to say, I was dumbstruck. I couldn’t believe what had just happened. I caught a foul ball – a Ken Griffey Jr. foul ball.

Then came my 1.5 seconds of fame: I was on the big screen. So there I was, with both my arms stretched into the air; one hand in a glove and one holding the foul ball, with a big dumb smile on my face, probably looking like a goofus.

Even today, that is one of the highlights of my life. Zack Hample has experienced this feeling over three thousand times:

Hample has a knack for properly positioning himself for wayward baseballs, gathering up, by his count, 3,494 over the last 19 years.

This year alone, he’s averaging 7.8 balls a game over 28 contests, which takes into account homers from batting practice and games, foul balls and those flipped to him by players, coaches and umpires.

He’s in the midst of a Cal Ripken Jr.-like streak, going 524 straight games, he said, with at least one ball, a string dating to Sept. 10, 1993.

Hample writes a blog that is associated with MLB.com along with other ventures:

Pursuing baseballs has become his life’s work. He’s written books on the subject – including “Watching Baseball Smarter” – answers questions on his blog from fans wanting tips, and has started a business called “Watch with Zack,” in which he’ll take fans to a game and guarantee them a souvenir ball or their money back.

“I’d still rather be a baseball player, but this is a cool second place,” Hample said. “It’s like a dream job – since I actually can’t be Derek Jeter.€

Keep living the dream, Zack.

[AP via Yahoo!]