Yankees DH Alex Rodriguez collected his 3,000th hit Friday night and he did so in dramatic fashion, hitting a home run to right field off Justin Verlander. The man who caught the ball? Well, he's been here before:

That's 37-year-old Yankees season-ticket holder Zack Hample, but he's known for more than that. He's actually written a book about "How to Snag Major League Baseballs," in which he bragged about having caught over 1,250 in his life. 

Thursday, someone asked him what he'd do if he caught A-Rod's 3,000th. His response?

Did he change his tune after having actually caught it? Maybe a little. Via nj.com:

"My intention all along, I've been imagining this scenario as a 1-in-a-million, was not to give it back," Hample said. "You know, just because the guy who got Jeter's 3,000th hit, a lot of people called him an idiot. A lot of people said that he was a wonderful person and extremely generous. And I really think that, whatever you want to do with it is your choice."

He added, "I think that someone like Derek Jeter or Alex Rodriguez, who has made half a billion dollars in his career, doesn't really need a favor from a normal civilian and a fan like me. I don't know right now if I'm going to sell it. I mean, depending on what the Yankees could offer, I would consider giving it back. I'm not giving it back for — I don't plan to give it back for a chance to meet him and full autographed bats because I don't collect bats, I collect baseballs. Just having this ball is so meaningful to me. I can't believe that I got it."

It would appear that some fans don't think too much of Hample:

"Bald Vinny," the leader of the dubbed "Bleacher Creatures" who leads the famed "roll call" in the first inning of games in Yankee Stadium, went a bit further, via nydailynews.com: 

“That guy’s a d-bag!” said Bald Vinny. “That guy sucks. He pushes little kids out of the way. He is the worst ever. That guy is the worst ever. There is literally – nobody worse could’ve gotten that home run ball than that f---ing guy. He’s a d-bag.

OK then. I guess that's one way to get so many baseballs.

Hample has now gotten it authenticated by MLB: