THE dad at the center of the viral Philadelphia Phillies home run ball incident on Saturday has finally spoken out.
Drew Feltwell found himself in the middle of an unexpected confrontation as he attempted to claim a home run ball for his kid.
The dad has revealed what was said to him[/caption]
A disgruntled Phillies fan then marched over to the family to claim that the ball rightfully belonged to her and forced it to be handed over.
The disagreement was caught on live television by NBC Sports Philadelphia and soon did the rounds online.
Speaking to Fox Sports on Monday, Feltwell has shared his account of the incident.
“I can’t even repeat that on air. She was very vulgar,” he said.
“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.”
Now dubbed the “Phillies Karen” by internet users, the fan has faced near-unanimous backlash for her actions.
Phillies outfielder Harrison Bader hit the home run against the Miami Marlins at LoanDepot Park.
The visitors won their opening game on Saturday 9-3 before backing it up with a 4-2 victory on the same day.
They were unable to make it a hat-trick of wins against the Marlins as the hosts snuck a 5-4 win in the third game.
The so-called “Phillies Karen” was caught flipping off fans following her outburst.
This altercation has caught the attention of ESPN’s SportsCenter as it continues to captivate the MLB world.
“It was tough giving the ball back but it ended that situation,” added Feltwell. “I hope that ball meant a lot to her.”
Feltwell had been at the game celebrating his son, Lincoln’s tenth birthday.
The ball was intended to be a gift for the youngster.
While the “Phillies Karen” claimed the ball, the Feltwell family certainly had the last laugh.
They were invited to meet home run-hitter Bader after the game, with young Lincoln being gifted a bat by the Phillies star.
By contrast, the unidentified woman was booed out of the stadium.
“Well, I’d love to get the ball to give back to my son,” continued Feltwell.
“But I don’t want anything bad to happen to her. Our evening worked out quite well afterward.”
Feltwell has no regrets over how he handled the situation as his son ultimately had a birthday to remember.
