The father involved in the Philadelphia Phillies home run ball incident has shared his experience of the confrontation with the woman who demanded the ball from him.
The situation unfolded during a game when Phillies outfielder Harrison Bader hit a home run into the stands at LoanDepot Park on September 5 in Miami.
In baseball, it is customary for fans to keep balls that land in the stands. Viral footage captures fans rushing to an empty row to secure the ball.
One father managed to pick up the ball and returned to his seat, handing it to his son, who was thrilled by the gesture.
However, shortly after, another fan, seated behind the landing spot, confronted the father, demanding the ball.
Drew Feltwell has since spoken about the encounter and the words exchanged.
He explained to Fox Sports: “I can’t even repeat that on air. She was very vulgar. Screaming right in my ear that, you know, lotta bad words and, ‘That’s my ball.’
“That was her section, and trying to tell me she had the right to that ball. The screaming and yelling kinda got to us, and I just wanted her to go away. So, that’s how she got the ball.”
During an interview with NBC10, he further elaborated: “I didn’t even see her walk up, and as she reached for my arm, she just yelled in my ear, ‘That’s my ball!’ like, super loud.
“I jumped out of my skin, and I was like, you know, like ‘Why are you here?’ you know, ‘Go away.’ And she’s like, ‘That’s my ball! You stole out of – those are from our seats.’
“And I said, ‘There was nobody in that seat,’ you know. She said, ‘That’s from where we were sitting,’ and she just went on and on.
“… I’m literally leaning back as she’s in my face yelling and yelling, and I pretty much just wanted her to go away because I had a fork in the road: either do something I was probably going to regret or be dad and show him how to de-escalate the situation, so that’s where I went.”
After Drew conceded and handed over the ball, fans expressed sympathy for his son, Lincoln, especially when it was revealed to be his 10th birthday.
The Marlins, witnessing the incident, decided to intervene and rectify the situation.
Footage captures a Marlins representative presenting Lincoln with a gift package filled with various items, including baseballs for him and his sister, who was seated beside him.
A clip shared on social media shows the representative saying: “We brought you a cool little goodie bag.”
Although Lincoln did not keep the ball Bader hit, the Phillies went above and beyond post-game when Bader personally met Lincoln and presented him with a signed bat.
A post on the Phillies’ Twitter account displays images of Lincoln meeting Bader and receiving the signed bat.
“Going home with a signed bat from Bader,” the post read.