The father involved in the drama surrounding a woman who demanded a home run ball during a Philadelphia Phillies game is breaking his silence.
Drew Feltwell and his young son Lincoln attended the match between the Phillies and the Miami Marlins on Sept. 5, when a home run, hit by Harrison Bader, came their way at the LoanDepot Park.
Several fans attempted to grab the ball, but Drew was able to secure it, and he walked over to give it to Lincoln, dropping it in his glove and giving him a big hug. However, the dad was met with opposition from another baseball fan, who grabbed the child’s arm and appeared to berate him, as seen in video footage that has since gone viral.
Now, speaking with NBC 10 Philadelphia, Drew said he was attending the MLB game with his wife, daughter and son Lincoln, to mark the child’s 10th birthday. “We’re just trying to make this week about him,” he told the outlet of his preteen. “I felt like super dad, putting that ball in his glove and giving him a hug.”
Explaining that he is “still in disbelief that she walked down there like that,” Drew told NBC 10 Philadelphia he is instead more focused on “just trying to set an example of how to de-escalate a situation in front of my son.”
In viral video shared online from the altercation, the upset Phillies fan could be heard telling Drew, “That was ours!”
“You took it from me,” the woman then told the father, adding, “You took it from me! That was in my hands.”
After a few seconds of arguing, Drew could be seen giving in to the upset fan, reaching into his son’s glove for the baseball and giving it to the woman.
“Fine,” he said, according to a fan-captured clip, prompting the woman to respond back with the same.
Despite the less-than-ideal interaction, an employee at the stadium later brought Lincoln a gift bag, as seen in footage that was shared online.
The boy also got to meet Bader, 31, himself after the game, and the Phillies center fielder gave Lincoln a signed bat.
“We ended up having a good night because of good people,” Drew told NBC 10 Philadelphia. “I wish I had the ball for my son to put in his room next to the bat, but if I had the ball, I probably wouldn’t have gotten the bat, so it worked out fine.”
And though he added that “putting the ball in his glove and then taking it back out killed me,” Drew said he would still respect the woman if she came forward, apologized and returned the item.
“I hope that ball means a lot to her,” he told the local outlet.
