PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The dad at Friday's Phillies game, who was confronted by a woman over a home run ball, said he gave it to her to teach his kids how to be the bigger person.
“I pretty much just wanted her to go away because I had a fork in the road: either do something I was probably going to regret or be a dad and show him how to de-escalate a situation,” said Drew Feltwell.
Feltwell told our partners at NBC10 about the moment and said he was bummed he couldn't get the ball for his soon-to-be 10-year-old son, Lincoln, but was thrilled about what followed.
The family was able to meet Harrison Bader after the game and get a signed bat from the Phillies outfielder.
Feltwell said he needed a moment to process everything that had happened.
“It took a minute for me to settle in. I know he wasn’t expecting it. He was on delay about what happened and why this happened, and everything, so it was a good moment for him,” he said.
“To have my wife and kids there and friends, it was amazing.”
As for going viral, Feltwell said his phone started blowing up minutes after the home run, and it hasn't stopped.
“People were making memes within 10 minutes. It was nuts,” he said.
“I had to tell my closer friends who are more on social media than me, just send me good ones because I can’t go on and look anymore.”
The woman from the incident has not spoken publicly about her side of the story.