A Philadelphia Phillies fan secured a home run ball hit by Harrison Bader and proudly placed it in the glove of his 9-year-old son Lincoln.
Moments later, the same fan removed the ball from his son’s glove and gave it to a woman who claimed that it rightfully belonged to her.
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Days after the now-viral incident occurred during the fourth inning of the Phillies’ 9-3 win over the Marlins on Friday in Miami, Drew Feltwell explained to NBC-10 in Philadelphia that he decided in the moment to “be Dad and show him how to de-escalate the situation” — something he determined was more important than providing Lincoln with a really cool game souvenir.
“We were there to get a home run ball,” said Feltwell, a Florida resident whose wife and daughter were also at the game. “So I thought I had accomplished this great thing. And putting it in his glove meant a lot. She was just so adamant and loud and yelling and persistent, and I just didn’t want to deal with it anymore.
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“There was hundreds of people just staring. And like I said, she was very, very, very close, and I’m Dad of the family, so I didn’t want to do something I’d regret. And that was the choice I made, just hand the ball back and tell her go away.”
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Feltwell said he was the first to get to the ball after it landed in an empty seat “down a couple seats” to his right. He said he was starting to walk away with the ball when other people, including the woman who eventually confronted him, started grabbing for it.
“I guess she just thought that that was her ball, because it was in front of her,” Feltwell said. “That’s fine, but she was too slow.”
Lincoln didn’t leave the game empty-handed though. A Marlins representative visited the family at their seats and presented the boy with a bag full of souvenirs. Then a Phillies representative invited the family to meet Bader outside the team clubhouse after the game. There, the nine-year veteran who was acquired from the Minnesota Twins at the trade deadline signed a bat for Lincoln and posed for pictures with the group.
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Lincoln told NBC-10 that although he was unhappy to have to give away the home run ball, “I’m happy that I got to get something else.”
And, he added, “it was very, very fun getting to meet Bader.”
Feltwell said he holds no ill will toward the so-called Phillies Karen who ended up with the home run ball.
“I don’t wish any harm to her. I would love to have that particular ball to put on the wall next to his bat, and got about 500 promises that they’re going to get the ball.”
Even so, he said, “I hope nobody does anything stupid to get it.”
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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