Phillies fans have a nasty reputation, deserved or not, and in Miami Friday night the best and, well, less than best was on display.
The moment has gone mega-viral, spawning an online hunt for the woman at the center of the drama and at least two misidentifications of the culprit who has become known as the “Phillies Karen.”
What happened at the Phillies-Marlins game?
In the fourth inning, Phillies outfielder Harrison Bader planted a home run into the left field seats and a mild looking skirmish for the ball ensued, mostly among fans wearing Phillies garb. A man in a Phillies shirt emerged with the souvenir and brought it back to his family about 10 seats down the row. He handed the ball to his young son.
What followed next was hard to believe. A white-haired woman in a Phillies hoodie stormed down the row to the family and grabbed the stunned dad by his shoulder and pointed to the ball and the spot of the scuffle, apparently demanding the ball belonged to her.
The father appeared to state his case briefly but then relented and took the ball from his son and handed it to the irate woman. She stormed back to her seat in the row behind, apparently triumphant.
Phillies TV announcer Ruben Amaro was incredulous that the woman insist the ball belonged to her, rhetorically asking “What is her problem?”
On the Marlins broadcast, the announcers remarked about how ‘weird’ the situation was and said that someone from Miami should deliver another ball to the boy.
Who is the Phillies Karen?
The internet went wild once the video of the incident made the rounds, with folks offering names of women who it could be.
A Moorestown, Burlington County, NJ woman was named and she felt the wrath.
“OK everyone … I’m NOT the crazy Philly Mom (but I sure would love to be as thin as she is and move as fast) … and I’m a Red Sox fan,” the woman wrote on her Facebook account Saturday.
The Hammonton School District, also in South Jersey, put out a statement distancing the district and their employees from the controversy, after online reports said the woman was an administrator there and had been fired.
“‘Phillies Karen’ is not, and has never been an employee of the Hammonton Public Schools,” the district wrote. They also set the record straight on another thing — they would have caught the ball — a point of pride with any real Phillies fan.
“Anyone who works for our school district, attended as a student or lives in our community would obviously have caught the ball bare-handed in the first place, avoiding this entire situation.”
The woman in the video has not been publicly identified in any confirmed reports as of Monday morning.
How did the Marlins and Phillies respond to Karen ball snatching?
Soon after a woman who worked for the Marlins came over to speak to the boy.
She said the other fan’s behavior was “not OK” and presented a gift bag to the boy. Inside that bag were a number of other home run balls as well as a jersey and some other collectibles.
According to reports, the person who recorded the video of the Marlins worker delivering the gift bag said that the woman fan, ‘said the ball landed in her seat [and that] it was hers.’
The witness continued: ‘the dad of the year in question simply responded “you have to catch it to be yours” to which the Karen-esque meltdown ensued.’
Replays showed the home run ball initially bounced off “Karen’s” midsection, but she never got a grasp on it and the ball caromed down to the row in front of her.
When asked about what happened to the woman fan, the witness said, ‘Lmaoo we boo’d her till her and her completely embarrassed significant other left.’
While the Marlins employee delivered gifts to the family during the game, the Phillies did their part after they grabbed a 9-3 series-opening win by inviting the family to the locker room area. Team president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and Bader autographed the outfielder’s bat and gifted it to the young boy.