A dispute over the ownership of a home run ball that landed in the bleachers at a baseball game led to an ugly confrontation that went viral and a heartwarming aftermath for the young boy who initially was given the ball. <\/p>\n
A home run by the Philadelphia Phillies’ Harrison Bader in a game against the Miami Marlins on Sept. 5 landed in the seats in left field at Miami’s loanDepot Park. The long ball set off a mad scramble by fans to claim the ball as it rolled on the ground. <\/p>\n
The aftermath of the moment<\/a> left a father perplexed, his young son upset and a woman villainized on social media. <\/p>\n Here’s what to know. <\/p>\n What Happened With the Home Run Ball at the Phillies Game? <\/p>\n A fourth-inning blast by Phillies’ outfielder Harrison Bader landed in a row of seemingly empty seats at Miami’s loanDepot Park, sending nearby fans scrambling to try to pick up the souvenir off the ground. <\/p>\n A father identified as Phillies fan Drew Feltwell emerged from the brief scrum with the ball. As he picked it up off the ground, a female Phillies fan swiped at him from one row up as he walked away. <\/p>\n Feltwell held the ball in triumph and walked back down the aisle to his seats toward his children. He then happily deposited the home run ball in the baseball glove of his son, Lincoln. <\/p>\n Seconds later, the female Phillies fan was seen on camera striding toward him and admonishing him for taking the ball. Feltwell flinched as the woman put her hand on his right arm and began gesturing in his face. <\/p>\n She pointed at him and heated words were exchanged. After a few moments, Feltwell took the ball out of his son’s glove and gave it to the irate fan. She took it and stomped away back to her seat. <\/p>\n The moment went viral, with the woman dubbed “Phillies Karen” on social media. <\/p>\n \u201cWho takes a baseball from a kid? An entitled Karen,\u201d one commenter wrote on a YouTube video of the incident.<\/p>\n What Did the Dad Say About the Viral Moment? <\/p>\n Feltwell, a Phillies fan who lives in West Palm Beach, Florida, spoke with the NBC Philadelphia affiliate<\/a> and NBC News<\/a> about the ugly moment. <\/p>\n He said that he was at the game with his son, daughter and wife in celebration of Lincoln’s upcoming 10th birthday. <\/p>\n \u201cI felt like super dad putting that ball in his glove and giving him a hug,\u201d Feltwell told NBC10 in Philadelphia about initially securing the home run ball. <\/p>\n Feltwell said the woman was screaming, “That’s my ball!” in his face when she approached. He explained why he gave her the ball without any further arguing. <\/p>\n \u201cThere was kind of a fork in the road, like, I\u2019m gonna go one direction and then probably regret,\u201d Feltwell told NBC News<\/a>. \u201cOr go this direction and do something in front of my kids that, you know, like a teaching moment.\u201d<\/p>\n Feltwell said he apologized to Lincoln for giving the woman the ball. <\/p>\n \u201cPutting the ball in his glove and then taking it back out killed me,” he told NBC10 Philadelphia. <\/p>\n He added that the woman left the stadium about five minutes later after being roundly booed by the crowd. <\/p>\n The woman has not been identified by NBC News. <\/p>\n Online speculation about the woman’s identity led the Hammonton School District in New Jersey to release a statement <\/a>dispelling rumors that she works in their school system. <\/p>\n “The woman identified on social media as ‘Phillies Karen’ is not, and has never been an employee of the Hammonton Public Schools located in Hammonton, New Jersey,” the district wrote on Facebook. “Social media and news reports indicating that she is, are incorrect.”<\/p>\n “Anyone who works for our school district, attended as a student or lives in our community would obviously have caught the ball bare-handed in the first place, avoiding the entire situation.” <\/p>\n What Happened After the Viral Moment? <\/p>\n The Phillies learned about the incident in the stands, which ended with a silver lining for Feltwell’s son. <\/p>\n Feltwell told NBC10 Philadelphia that the family was invited by a Phillies representative to meet with the team after the game in the clubhouse, and the Marlins also gave Lincoln a goody bag. <\/p>\n Bader, who hit the home run that started the dispute, presented Lincoln with an autographed bat and took pictures with the family. <\/p>\n \u201cWe ended up having a good night because of good people,\u201d Feltwell shared with NBC10 Philadelphia. <\/p>\n The moment was reminiscent of a recent scene at the U.S. Open tennis tournament. A man in the stands was seen swiping a hat from a young boy<\/a> that Polish tennis player Kamil Majchrzak had intended to give the child. <\/p>\n