When Zack Hample snagged A-Rod’s 3,000th hit at Yankee Stadium in June 2015, other ball hawkers took notice and schemed on how they could do something special. Enter Doug Hakey.
MLB Ball Hawking: Hobby of collecting baseballs at Major League games.
Doug Hakey (photo courtesy Sport in American History)
Doug Hakey is a bit similar to Dennis Quaid’s character in The Rookie. Retired from a career as a plumber and developer in Martha’s Vineyard. Hakey resides in Amherst, Virginia, a speck of “God’s Country” in the Blue Ridge Mountains, 200 miles away from the closest Major League ballpark.
When he’s not collecting baseballs, Hakey collects other stuff, like vintage motorcycles, vintage cars, Native American artifacts, and fossils. Indeed, I’ve written previously about Hakey’s NFL hawking exploits.
About a decade ago, Hakey decided to go where no MLB ball hawk had gone before – not even Hample. In short, no one challenged Hakey, so he challenged himself. He decided to attempt to get three balls from three different ballparks in one day.
“I figured I had a 50-50 chance of being successful,” says Hakey.
Hakey’s self-appointed date with history was July 23, 2016, and his target parks were PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, and Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. If Hakey’s momentous day were to be a movie, it would be pitched as Ocean’s 11 meets Major League with a hint of Bad News Bears.
Hackey with Ben Wilson (R), photo courtesy Sport in American History
Hakey’s day started in Pittsburgh for a 4 pm tilt versus the Phillies. Hakey wasn’t flying solo. Fellow ball hawk Ben Wilson was at the wheel, allowing Hakey to focus on the balls. Batman has Robin. Hakey has Ben. (When they’re not chasing baseballs, Ben and Hakey search for great roller coasters.) The gates to the PNC concourse opened at 2, with the gates to the field opening at 2:30. (Hakey had been counting on the field gates opening at 2). The clock was ticking – and the schedule was very tight.
Fortunately, a veteran PNC hawk, Eric Jabs, gave Hakey a tip and informed him that his best shot at nabbing a ball was the visitor’s bullpen. Hakey, who was decked out in Phillies regalia, hustled over and found a Phillies pitcher warming up – but he ignored Hakey. (Hample pioneered the technique of wearing an opposing team’s gear to entice a ball.)
At 2:22, a batting practice home run landed in the Phillies’ bullpen, but unfortunately, there was no way to get it. A life preserver arrived in the form of Phillies pitcher Edubray Ramos. Promptly, Hakey pulled out his signature charm. “I never have a problem striking up a conversation with a stranger,” says Hakey. Hakey convinced Ramos to toss the ball to the young girl who was nearby. As Wilson set a strong pick on two aggressive hawks, Hakey caught Ramos’ throw, took a ball out of his pocket, and handed it to the excited young girl, all in practically one motion.
Yes, it was deceptive. Then again, everyone left happy and, of course, history was at stake.
One ball down, two balls to go!
Hakey and Ben sprinted to their car, a Z06 Corvette. A long ride awaited on I-70, but thanks to Ben’s strong foot and a very capable laser detector, the ride was relatively quick. At about 6:10, Ben dropped Hakey off at the Camden Yards entrance. With only about 10 minutes remaining of batting practice, Hakey had to work fast. But he struck out.
Plan B: Hakey hit the Cleveland Indians dugout, where he worked their bat boy, who took a shine to him. Certainly, it didn’t hurt that Hakey was in full Indians regalia. Soon after, the bat boy took a few steps into the dugout, grabbed a batting practice ball, and tossed it to Hakey. Success! Hakey took a picture with an usher and the ball, and he was off to meet Ben.
Two balls down, one to go!
Fortunately, traffic was on Hakey and Ben’s side, and the ride on 295 to Nationals Park took about 50 minutes. In the third inning, Hakey and Doug entered Nationals Park. Shortly after, in the fifth inning, Hakey, who had – no surprise here – changed into San Diego Padres gear, positioned himself near the Padres dugout. Hakey convinced Screech, the Nationals’ mascot, to get a ball from a Padres coach for him.
Mission accomplished!
Hakey achieved history – and approval from the greatest hawk of all time.
Zach Hample: Snagging a baseball at three different MLB stadiums in one day is totally insane and impressive. Evidently, there were some people (in the ball hawk community) who claimed that the feat shouldn’t count or that it was tainted because Doug didn’t stay to watch the entire game, but that’s arbitrary and silly. He did something amazing that was meaningful to him, so that’s all that matters.
By the seventh inning, Hakey and Ben made their way to their seats behind the Padres bullpen, but they weren’t done hawking, and Hakey managed to convince the Padres bullpen crew to toss him three more balls over the course of the final three innings.
What does Hakey do with all the baseballs? “I give away about three-quarters of the balls,” says Hakey. “I give them to kids. I don’t need to die with two thousand baseballs in my house.”
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Jon Hart is the author of Unfortunately, I was available, the sequel to Man versus Ball: One Ordinary Guy and His Extraordinary Sports Adventures.
