Unfortunately, he never made a connection. Or a catch.

The 32-year-old New Yorker got to Yankee Stadium around 1:30 yesterday afternoon. As the crowd arrived for Game 2 of the World Series, Hample was working the wide walkway outside Gate 4, ready to reel in another one.

"Luck, timing, positioning," Hample said of the tricks of his trade.

He says he's the world's No. 1 Ball Hawk. He might be telling the truth. He was on TV with Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien a couple of years ago, and he has written a couple of books, one of which is titled How To Snag Major-League Baseballs.

Hey, you never know what you might see outside the big stadium before the big game. There was one guy out there last night wearing a red hat that looked like a cross between a fez, a prop for a Burger King commercial, and something Harold Harefoot might have worn before he was succeeded on the English throne by Edward the Confessor.

There was another guy wrapped in a raggedy Yankees flag selling little American flags, wearing underwater goggles and yelling, "Yankees Win! Yankees Win!" even though the home team had lost Game 1 and was hours away from talking the field for Game 2.

This is Hample's turf, and these are his people, except for the fact that he hates the Yankees. He's not a Mets fan, either.

He's partial to the Phillies, even though he was born and raised in New York. But that has more to do with the layout of Citizens Bank Park, as well as what he calls the agreeable demeanor of the security personnel in South Philadelphia.

"The Yankees frown on breathing," Hample said. "They have succeeded in making it not fun to come to the baseball game."

Hample was in a bit of a bad mood. He was standing there with a homemade sign that read "Will Ballhawk for Tickets" when a New York City policeman told him it was illegal to solicit for tickets on stadium property.

"Is he kidding me?" Hample wondered when the cop walked away.

It wasn't looking good. Batting practice was about to start, and Hample wasn't getting any nibbles on his offer.

"If somebody gave me a ticket to this game, I would give them 3 or 4 balls from a World Series game," Hample said. "I average nine balls per game. I know I could get three or four if I could get in there."

Hample says he has the record of 4,352 baseballs since his career as a ball hawk began in 1990. He says caught them at 46 major-league parks. He says he's caught batting-practice homers and game homers, plus foul balls. He says lots of assistant coaches have tossed him baseballs.

He says there are ball hawks all over the country, but he's the No. 1 guy.

"There are guys who say they got 5,000," Hample said. "Then you ask them, and you find out that 1,500 or so were at spring training or minor-league games. I've gotten 4,352 at major-league games."

Hample said he caught Barry Bonds' 724th home run in San Diego. He says he caught home runs on consecutive nights during the last week of the old Yankee Stadium.

Unlike many ball hawks, Hample said he doesn't sell his baseballs. He said he keeps them, although he has given away a bunch.

He lives in Manhattan, and makes a living as a writer. He mostly drives to games, about three or four a week. He usually buys a ticket, but didn't want to spring for the World Series.

"This isn't good," Hample said, keeping an eye out to see if the cop was coming back.

It was getting late. Hample said he probably would head back to Manhattan, maybe watch the game on TV.

It was another big night in the Bronx. It was Game 2 of the World Series.

It also was the night when the Ball Hawk went home empty-handed.