Woman took home run ball from young fan at Marlins-Phillies game

A tense confrontation at LoanDepot Park in Miami on Friday night ended with a woman taking a home run ball from a young fan and touched off a wave of online accusations and false identifications, the boy's father said. During the fourth inning of the Philadelphia Phillies' game against the Miami Marlins, Phillies outfielder Harrison Bader hit a home run into the left-field stands. Drew Feltwell said he sprinted with several others to retrieve the ball, handed it to his son Lincoln as an early birthday gift, and was soon accosted by a middle-aged woman who demanded the souvenir.

"I pretty much just wanted her to go away," Feltwell told NBC10 Philadelphia, recounting that the woman suddenly appeared, got in his face, and yelled "That's my ball" so loudly it startled him. With the crowd watching and the exchange escalating, Feltwell said he chose to hand the ball to the woman rather than risk a physical confrontation or set a different example for his children. Video of the incident shows onlookers booing the woman, who later flipped off the crowd.

The episode quickly went viral and the woman was labeled online as "Phillies Karen." The incident prompted immediate intervention from...