Phillies Player Speaks Out About Viral Fan Who Took Home Run Ball from Dad

Philadelphia Phillies right fielder Nick Castellanos shared his take on the drama surrounding the woman who demanded a home run ball from a father and son during a game on Sept. 5.

Castellanos, 33, addressed the viral moment during an appearance on Dodgers star Mookie Betts’ podcast On Base with Mookie Betts on Wednesday, Sept. 17, offering a new take on the situation.

Castellanos — whose teammate Harrison Bader hit the ill-fated home run ball — told Betts he usually tries to “aim for a kid” when there’s opportunity to get a ball to fans in the stands, but said, “You always have that ambitious adult sometimes that will come and grab it.”

In the case of the viral moment between the still-unidentified woman and the father, Drew Feltwell — who told NBC 10 Philadelphia he was “still in disbelief” days after the incident — Castellanos said he sees “a very frustrated lady” and suggested she “for years, probably felt like she was getting the s— end of the stick.'”

“And now this thing happened, and she’s like, ‘I’m not finishing second here. I need this for me,'” Castellanos said.

Betts suggested that the woman was possibly “giving it to her grandson or son” and reminded viewers that “we don’t know” the woman’s intentions because she has yet to speak out. Betts chalked the incident up to “a tough situation” and said he hopes “that woman is doing better today.”

Castellanos agreed, nothing, “The internet has let her have it.”

Betts asked Castellanos if he was aware of the incident during the game, and the Phillies player said he and his teammates learned of it after they won, when a team employee “came up and explained the situation” to Bader, who said “of course” he’ll take time to meet the boy and his family after the game.

In his interview with NBC, Feltwell said he was attending the Phillies matchup with the Miami Marlins on Sept. 5 with his wife, daughter and son Lincoln, who was celebrating his 10th birthday. “We’re just trying to make this week about him,” he told the outlet of his son. “I felt like super dad, putting that ball in his glove and giving him a hug.”

The video was shared online from multiple angles, showing the upset Phillies fan telling Feltwell, “That was ours! You took it from me.”

After a few seconds of arguing, Feltwell could be seen giving in to the upset fan, reaching into his son’s glove for the baseball and giving it to the woman. “Fine,” he said, according to a fan-captured clip, prompting the woman to respond back with the same.