The baseball fan who surrendered the home run ball he initially gave to his son has spoken out about ‘Phillies Karen’ – saying he ‘jumped out of my skin’ when she confronted him about the souvenir.
On Friday night, Drew Feltwell managed to snag a home run ball ahead of his son’s 10th birthday during the Phillies-Marlins game – but was bullied by a woman into handing it over as she angrily told him the ball belonged to her.
And Feltwell has now told NBC 10 Philadelphia that he simply wanted the woman to ‘go away’ as he tried to be a role model for his son.
‘Just trying to set an example of how to de-escalate a situation in front of my son, I guess,’ he told the network.
Feltwell, who attended the game with his wife, son and daughter, added that he was ‘still in disbelief’ at the woman’s actions and that he apologized to his son for handing the ball over.
‘I thought I had accomplished this great thing,’ Feltwell said. ‘But she just wouldn’t stop.’
A woman Phillies fan (white jersey) was seen berating Drew Feltwell for beating her to a home run
The woman didn’t see the loose ball as fair game, but rather claimed she had it in her hand
Feltwell has now told NBC 10 Philadelphia that he wanted to set a good example for his son
While the woman got the home run ball hit by Harrison Bader, she was ultimately booed out of the stadium and was slammed on social media.
Meanwhile, Feltwell’s son Lincoln got to meet Bader after the game and even received a signed bat from the Phillies star.
Nonetheless, Feltwell said that he partially regretted taking the ball away from his son.
‘I felt like super dad putting that ball in his glove and giving him a hug,’ he said.
He later continued: ‘Putting the ball in his glove and then taking it back out killed me.’
A different angle of the incident later emerged, showing that ‘Phillies Karen’ actually confronted multiple fans – and flipped off the crowd in Miami.
The moment initially went viral on Friday when FanDuel Sports Network Florida cameras showed Feltwell and the woman clashing.
‘That was ours,’ she yelled at him.
After he gestured to his son, who he’d given the ball to, the man tried to explain that she didn’t actually catch the souvenir. However, that answer didn’t suffice for her.
Later in the night, Feltwell’s son was given a signed bat and got to meet Bader
The woman – after being boo’d by supporters around her – then stuck her middle finger up
‘No, you took it from me!’ she yelled in response. ‘You took it from me! That was in my hands. That was in my hands.’
At that point, he took the baseball from his disappointed son and handed it to the woman.
Feltwell told NBC10 that his family wound up ‘having a good night because of of good people.’
He added of ‘Phillies Karen,’ though: ‘I hope that ball means a lot to her.’
The Marlins also made amends with Feltwell and his family by offering them a gift bag.
The incident was just the latest in a series of fan disputes across American sports, including two men quarrelling over a ball at a New York Mets game and the notorious incident at the US Open in which a man snatched a tennis pro’s hat that was intended for a young boy.
