Phillies Karen, Drew Feltwell, and Ball Etiquette

Last Friday's game between the Miami Marlins and Philadelphia Phillies produced a viral moment between fans. In case you've been under a rock for the past four days, a home run ball was the object of a race between fans sitting in left field. This moment has sparked debate over etiquette when a ball is hit into the stands. It has also led to a worldwide quest for the identity of the woman who ultimately got the ball.

Ball Etiquette

I, for one, would loved to have gotten a home run ball and presented it to The Boy, birthday or no birthday.

Who is this woman?
(Photo: x.com/CubanOnlyTrump)
When a ball is hit into the stands, there is no one person who is entitled to it. The one who gets to the ball first claims it. That is how it goes, and somehow "Phillies Karen" didn't realize that. The ball Harrison Bader hit for a home run caused a race between four fans. Drew Feltwell won the race and gave the ball to his son, Lincoln. The Feltwells were at the game celebrating Lincoln's 10th birthday. This prompted an angry woman to confront Drew and Lincoln. This woman, now deemed "Phillies Karen", confronted the Feltwells and demanded the ball be given to her.

There has been a lot of talk about who was entitled to the ball and what people would have done if they were in that situation. I, for one, would have loved to have gotten a home run ball and presented it to The Boy, birthday or no birthday. My family knows how much I love spending time with my children and how much I love to watch sports. Watching Drew get the all and give it to his son made me a little jealous. Then I find out it was Lincoln's birthday, and that made me all the more happier for the entire Feltwell family.

What Happened Next, and who is Phillies Karen?

What happened next has been the subject of discussion over who was right and what is the identity of "Phillies Karen". (Hint: So far, it isn't Cheryl Richardson-Wagner or Leslie-Ann Kravitz.) Personally, I have been thinking a lot about Drew. He thought he was a shoe-in for "Father of the Year" after giving the home run ball to his son.  In a story by NBC10 Philadelphia, Feltwell, "was hoping to give that home run ball to Lincoln and get them on TV."

Employees of the Marlins and Phillies 
made sure Lincoln had a happier birthday.

People working for both the Phillies and the Marlins saw what had happened in the stands, and both teams immediately provided the birthday boy with gifts of team merchandise. Bader met Lincoln and his family after the game and autographed the home run bat for the young fan. Drew's attempts for the ball ultimately got the family on TV, so mission accomplished in that regard.

My Opinion on Feltwell versus Phillies Karen

Here are my thoughts on the incident. First, in replays of the home run, Phillies Karen appears to stop for a second and point to the ball before going for it. I think if she hadn't hesitated, she would have got to the ball first. Second, if a ball is hit and it bounces around in the stands, like Bader's home run did and thousands of other balls like it have done, then the one who is entitled to it is the one who reaches it first. People who are not entitled to the ball are people who rip it out of the hands of someone else.

No daddy wants their children's birthday to be memorable for the wrong reasons, and no daddy wants to the the reason for that.

Second, Drew was with his family. A lunatic confronted him over the ball. Video shows he is visibly spooked by her as she gets up in his face and starts shouting. this guy doesn't want to make more of a scene than it already is. He doesn't know what she is going to do and he has 10-year-old Lincoln in his arms. If she wants the ball bad enough to get violent, that means there is a chance his son will get hurt. Plus, if he defends himself from any aggression, which he would have the right to do, there is a chance other members of the Feltwell family would get hurt. Not only that, but I would be willing to bet Drew would be ejected from the stadium for fighting. No daddy wants their children's birthday to be memorable for the wrong reasons, and no daddy wants to be the reason for that.

You hear a lot of stories and see a lot of videos today of fights in the stands. Drew didn't want a bad situation to get worse, so he took the ball from Harrison and gave it to Karen, later saying, "Putting the ball in his glove and then taking it back out killed me." At that time, Drew is thinking about a raving lunatic who is confronting him and, by default, his son, who is in his arms. As much as a dad wants to give his son a ball hit into the stands, he doesn't want his son, or anyone else in his family to get hurt. Drew Feltwell was thinking of his son first, and then his entire family. He didn't want anyone to get hurt or anyone's night to be spoiled by getting kicked out of the game.

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