Phillies home run ball clash: Father confronted by fan speaks out

Philadelphia Phillies fan Drew Feltwell wants people to lay off the woman who harangued him and his son over a home run ball at a game last week.

During the fourth inning of the Phillies’ game against the Miami Marlins at LoanDepot Park on September 5, Feltwell retrieved a home run ball that Harrison Bader had blasted into the stands before passing it to his son.

However, the pair were soon confronted by an unidentified woman, who started to argue angrily with them. Feltwell then gave the ball to the woman from his son’s glove and shooed her away.

Video of the moment went viral on social media, with the woman coming under criticism for her actions.

“Please don’t do anything to that lady,’’ Feltwell told USA TODAY Sports on Monday. “Leave it alone. You know, somebody knows her and can talk to her, that’s different. But God, I don’t want people breaking in their house and stuff like that. The internet already messed her up pretty good.’’

There was a happy ending to the saga. The young fan was given a Miami goodie bag and a baseball, the Marlins told CNN Sports, and he also got to meet Bader after the game, receiving a signed bat from the outfielder.

A similar incident happened at the US Open tennis tournament recently when Polish player Kamil Majchrzak tried to pass his cap to a young fan after defeating Karen Khachanov in the second round.

However, Piotr Szczerek, identified as a Polish chief executive, was stood nearby and snatched the hat away before giving it to a woman, despite the boy’s visible protestations. The boy and Szczerek appeared not to know each other.

Szczerek subsequently apologized in a post on Facebook, saying that he believed “the tennis player was handing his cap to me” – more specifically to his sons, who had “earlier asked for autographs.”

“Today I know I did something that looked like deliberately taking a souvenir from a child,” he added. “That was not my intention, but it does not change the fact that I hurt the boy and disappointed the fans.

“The cap has been handed to the boy, and I have apologized to the family. I hope this has at least partially repaired the damage done.”

In the days after the incident, Majchrzak met the young fan who was initially denied the cap and gave him a US Open-branded bag of gifts, as well as posing for photos.

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