Bleeding Yankee Blue: STANTON'S 300TH HOMER HANDLED WITH CLASS

Friday, August 31, 2018

STANTON'S 300TH HOMER HANDLED WITH CLASS

Photo: Getty Images

I was impressed with how everything went down with Giancarlo Stanton's 300th home run. First off... don't get it twisted. Stanton did something big. Not only did he crank 300 home runs, he also was the 5th fastest to do it in a baseball career. That's pretty outstanding. FOX Sports has this...

"Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton joined the 300-home run club Thursday night, connecting for a two-run drive in the third inning against the Detroit Tigers. Stanton ended a 10-game homerless drought and became the 147th player to reach the mark, 11 of them active. He did it in 1,119 games, making him the fifth-fastest to hit the milestone behind Ralph Kiner, Ryan Howard, Juan Gonzalez and Alex Rodriguez. At 28, Stanton was the ninth-youngest player to hit 300..."

Photo: Getty Images

But then comes how it went down when he did it. This was the breakdown for a man named Tim Kunz, the man who caught the ball, brought to us by Jack Curry:

Stanton's 300th home run ball will be in his locker after the game, thanks to Eddie Fastook of Yankees' security. Tim Kunz caught the ball. He traded it in for a meet and greet w/ Stanton, autographed baseballs, tickets to future game, a clubhouse/field tour and 2 Bud Lights
— Jack Curry (@JackCurryYES) August 31, 2018

Now why do I bring this up? Because Tim could have pulled a Zach Hample and walked out of the building with it so he could roll around his bed with all the balls he caught over the years, but he gave it back to the dude that hit it. It's a class act, something he clearly didn't have to do, but did just the same. The Yankees in turn rewarded the man and they should have, especially for being so good about it.

That Zach Hample is a real ass. My family and I were at a game at the stadium on Monday night... that Hample creep was there. My 16 and 14 year old were with me and they spotted him... and they wanted to taunt him and cause some trouble. Now, I never raised my kids to be that way... but I gotta tell you something; In the back of my mind I wouldn't have minded them shoving him into the wall as we walked by him. My kids are now strong, they're athletes. They play by the book... but if someone plays dirty... they'll play dirty back. Hample plays dirty.

But I'm their dad and so I instructed them not too. Instead, I walked by reminding him that he should be alittle more giving to the kids around him when he makes an important catch out there. He's disgusting in my mind, but hey, I must be in the minority. There were people literally taking selfies with this creep.

Read a great piece about this jerk-off from former BYB writer Barry Millman:

THE BLACK EYE OF MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL