A Philadelphia Phillies game took an unexpected turn when a father and son found themselves at the center of a viral confrontation over a home run ball. Andrew Feltwell and his son, Lincoln, were enjoying a Phillies vs. Marlins game when Harrison Bader’s towering home run landed near them. Quick-thinking Andrew snagged the ball and, in a heartwarming gesture, presented it to his son, who was celebrating his birthday. "It was exciting getting our first ever home run ball," Lincoln recalled. This seemingly joyous moment, however, quickly escalated.
A woman aggressively approached the family, claiming the ball was hers, shouting angrily and using inappropriate language in front of the children. Andrew, visibly shocked by the woman’s outburst, described the situation: "When she screamed in my ear, that's when I was shocked. She was so close, and her language was unacceptable around my kids. All I could think was, 'Make her go away.'" Ultimately, to de-escalate the situation, Andrew gave the ball to the woman.
However, this story doesn't end with a disgruntled fan. Both the Phillies and the Marlins, hearing about the incident, stepped in to make things right. The Marlins gifted Lincoln a bag full of goodies, and Bader himself sent Lincoln a signed baseball bat. "It was really exciting," Lincoln shared. "I would've still liked the home run ball, but everything else is just as good."
Sports commentators weighed in, noting the unspoken rules of baseball where a caught ball generally belongs to the person who catches it. Levi Weaver of The Athletic stated, "Once the ball's in a kid's glove – it's a baseball; there's no way that baseball was meaningful enough to an adult that they need to go take it out of a child's glove. It's the unwritten rule." The incident highlights the unexpected turns of events at sporting events and the heartwarming resolution that followed a seemingly frustrating situation.
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Originally published at: https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Living/father-son-speak-after-viral-phillies-marlins-game/story?id=125366422
