Two of baseball’s superfans are embroiled in a war of words over attendance – Washington Post

Noted ball-hawk Zack Hample caused a firestorm Sunday when he began tweeting from a Marlins-Braves game held at Fort Bragg (N.C.). Now, he finds himself in a he-said-he-said argument with another of baseball’s superfans over the circumstances of his attendance.

Hample attended the game looking to add to his collection of more than 9,000 baseballs caught at major league stadiums. The only problem was the game was supposed to be closed to the general public. That didn’t stop Hample, however, who managed to find a way into the ballgame.

Officials reportedly distributed 12,500 tickets, with most going to troops, their families, veterans and Fort Bragg civilian employees. But with high demand and more than 54,000 soldiers based there, many could not get into the game. Unused tickets were supposed to be turned in so troops who were not originally assigned tickets could attend.

Many took to social media, including the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne division, which is stationed at Fort Bragg, to criticize Hample after he tweeted a photo from the ballpark.

[Noted ballhawk Zack Hample makes enemies of the 82nd Airborne division]

Hample fired back at critics in a series of tweets, including one stating his intention to donate to a veteran’s organization for every ball he might catch. But that didn’t assuage Laurence Leavy, better known as “Marlins Man”, who very publicly expressed his displeasure with Hample’s presence at the game.

Hample posted an apology Tuesday for attending the closed game. But many, including Leavy, continued to attack Hample over the decision to go.

Leavy tweeted Tuesday afternoon what he considers proof that Hample’s story is untrue.

Leavy had threatened to release proof earlier Tuesday, to which Hample responded by saying “Anything [Leavy] releases is fraudulent or is coming from an impersonator. I didn’t pay off anybody.”

The information released appears to be screenshots of a direct-message conversation between Hample and an unknown party. The two superfans met June 27 at Yankee Stadium, where both parties confirmed they discussed talking about the game at Fort Bragg.

According to Leavy, Hample said he was offering $1,000 to anyone who got him onto the base and into the game.

“I told him I didn’t think he was going to get in,” Leavy told The Post. “In fact, the Marlins owner was trying to get me in because I’m the biggest Marlins fan of all time. The Marlins had never been in a ‘Sunday Night Baseball’ game. . . . It was natural for me to be there. ”

Leavy said that once he heard that there was limited seating for military personnel, he backed out. Leavy says he told Hample that he had withdrawn when the pair met and Hample revealed his own plan to attend the game. According to Leavy, Hample told him that he was going to get into the game by paying off a security guard he knew at the gate.

“What he said in his apology letter was bulls—,” Leavy said. “It wasn’t like he accidentally went. It wasn’t from a friend of a friend. It wasn’t like he got to go for free and didn’t know what he was doing was wrong and realized later on. It’s all lies.”

Hample denied Leavy’s claims, however.

“I’ve never heard more false information in my life,” Hample said when told of Leavy’s account of the events, adding that Leavy’s account “is longer than our entire conversation.”

Hample said he brought up Fort Bragg during their Yankee Stadium encounter to see if Leavy was going to the game.

“He told me how difficult it was to get in and complained to me how Major League Baseball and the Marlins were being mean to him and how they weren’t letting him get in,” Hample said. “He bragged to me how much he does to promote baseball and ‘Sunday Night Baseball’ and how he’d been to every Sunday night game for a year and a half.

“It was clear he wanted to go and I don’t blame him for that. Everyone wanted to go.”

According to Hample, Leavy talked about how it was “absolutely impossible” to get into the game.

“He was going on and on about how it was impossible,” Hample said. “I made a point of not telling him any specific plans of my own because I got the sense of the nature of the conversation because he was upset about not being able to get in and if I told him my plans to go, I felt he would try to mess me up. I felt he would try to sabotage my plan. I made a point of not revealing anything.”

Leavy said he thinks Hample is lying about the circumstances and that “he let his ego control his logic.” Leavy said his main issue with Hample comes from his attendance at the game, which may have taken away the opportunity for a member of the armed services to attend the game.

“He went and somebody from the military who wanted to go who was a lottery loser and wanted these balls he caught precluded kids or other people from catching them, which is what that day was about,” Leavy said. “That day was not about him catching balls or writing checks. That day was about giving the military a firsthand experience.”

But Hample believes Leavy feels envious that Hample attended the nationally televised game featuring his favorite baseball team, and added that he feels regret for attending the game and how it looked for him to be at a game where a large number of Fort Bragg personnel were unable to attend.

“My brand has obviously taken a big hit after this. I see how this could be the perception, but next year when I visit the Braves’ new stadium, I’m going to be tweeting just as excitedly,” Hample said.

And while Fort Bragg certainly brought attention to Hample’s situation with their provocative and slanted tweets, a statement from a Fort Bragg spokesperson chose to focus on the game’s intended purpose, to pay tribute to the military.

“We’re aware of his attendance, but more focused on the fantastic game that thousands of our service members, families and friends were able to enjoy,” said Fort Bragg spokesperson Christina Douglas. “It was truly a night to remember. We will forever be grateful to MLB and MLBPA for this historic opportunity.”