Anorak

Anorak News | Man catches baseball thrown from helicopter flying 1,050ft above him

Man catches baseball thrown from helicopter flying 1,050ft above him

by | 16th, July 2013

PA-16310162

CATCHING a ball? How hard is that? Well, if it is a ball thrown from a helicopter, then it is stupidly hard. However, one plucky fella has done exactly that!

Zack Hample has set a world record by holding on to a baseball that was lobbed out of a helicopter flying 1,050ft above him, with the ball reaching speeds of 95mph!

During the 12-second wait for it to fall, Hample seemed to lose sight, before getting it together to calmly stick a paw out and cup it into his catcher’s mitt.

“Well, I did it, I caught a baseball dropped from a helicopter *more than* 1,000 feet high,” Zack tweeted.

Hample was helped by overcast conditions at Edward A LeLacheur Park, home of minor league baseball side the Lowell Spinners in Massachusetts. Imagine if he had to do it with the sun in his eyes? Imagine how many teeth he’d lose?

Zack just happens to be a sports writer who has caught and kept more than 6,800 baseballs that were smacked into the stands during major league games.

Funnily enough, he’s written a book explaining the secrets of being in the right place at the right time. Have a look at his record breaking catch below.

 

Photo: Zack Hample, right, shakes the hand of Arizona Diamondbacks’ Didi Gregorius after a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Thursday, April 18, 2013, at Yankee Stadium in New York. Hample caught home run balls hit by Gregorius and Yankees’ Francesco Cervelli. The Diamondbacks won 6-2 in the 12th inning.



Posted: 16th, July 2013 | In: Sports Comment (1) | TrackBack | Permalink