Andrew Feltwell and his son, Lincoln, experienced a memorable night at Citizen Bank Park during the Philadelphia Phillies game against the Miami Marlins on Friday. The special public outing celebrated Lincoln’s birthday. It took an unexpected turn when a single Royals home run ball flew into the stands, beginning a climactic chase that fans would recount long after the game was over.
In the bottom of the first, that excitement got cranked up to 11 when Harrison Bader blasted Nolan Ryan‘s fastball deep into the bleachers. From his position behind the fence, Andrew Feltwell, ever vigilant for the action, jumped immediately to the crack of the bat. He recounted that moment, discussing how he saw the ball go up but didn’t know where it was going. He raced ahead to the point where he thought it would land. In his enthusiasm, he ran into a chair on the way to catch it.
I went to my right side and hit a chair going for the ball,” Feltwell remembered. For all the clumsy handling, he did somehow manage to bobble the ball back and forth between the armrests before finally grabbing it cleanly.
Andrew, feeling victorious, shifted his focus back to his family. Now, with the prized possession in hand, he was prepared to present it to Lincoln. The exuberant little lad screamed with delight the moment he snagged that dinger of a baseball souvenir. This was an extraordinary first for their family. “It was exciting getting the home run ball,” Lincoln said. “I would’ve still liked that home run ball to put in my room, but everything else, it’s all just as good in the end.”
That joyous mood turned pretty sour when one woman came to talk to Andrew’s family, clearly agitated. Having seen her son’s excited reaction when he successfully caught the ball, though, she quickly confronted him with anger.
Feltwell, who captured the moment on film, remembers it well. When she screeched in my ear, no one could tell that I almost jumped at least a foot out of my skin. He went on to explain why her being so close and saying such things was offensive especially in front of his kids. You know, when I had turned, I had to lean back because she was so close. She went on to have a whole lot of inappropriate things to say in proximity to my children. All I kept thinking was, ‘Get her out of here.’
Even in the face of this confrontation, Andrew took a courageous step. He gave the ball to the woman, an act of trust that would help de-escalate the situation. The situation became a national sensation, making front pages. That’s how staff writer Levi Weaver of The Athletic described the turn of events to ABC News after breaking the story himself.
