Fan snags foul without spilling soda, fries

Karen Driben's a big Phillies fan, but she missed the game on TV last night, even though her husband, Ian, was there.

When he came home, he insisted she watch the highlights, even though the Phillies lost. There, in the fourth inning, outfielder Jayson Werth hits a foul ball and a fan nonchalantly makes a one-handed grab - without spilling any of the soda and fries off the tray he was carrying to his seat.

The man smoothly holds the ball up for the crowd to see.

"Was that you?" she said.

"I took the ball out of my pocket and tossed it over to her. She thought that was really cool," said Ian, a veterinarian at the Moorestown animal hospital run by his father, Charles, since the 1960s.

Father and son were at the game together last night, and had just gotten something to eat when the ball came toward Ian.

Now, Ian, 38, is a diehard Phillies fan. The graduate of Rutgers-Camden and Penn's veterinary school went to every game of the 2008 World Series, including both halves of famously suspended Game 5.

Wearing the championship cap he bought at that clincher, he was determined to pay attention to the game as he returned to his seat last night, so he tracked the ball all the way - concentrating first to catch it, then not to trip and wind up being a laughingstock on TV.

Like that guy in Houston who stood up then shied away, letting a ball smack his girlfriend. (Former girlfriend now, some reports say.)

"I saw the ball coming, and it's one of those moments and you know where if I don't catch this, it's going to be twice as bad as it's going to be good if I do catch it. If that makes grammatical sense," he said.

The crowd cheered, then gave him a standing ovation after the inning, when a replay was shown on the big screen.

Every morning, despite groans from staff at Burl-Moor-Driben Animal Hospital on Kings Highway, besides reviewing medical cases, he recaps what's going on with the Phillies.

At this morning's meeting, he got to turn on the TV, so the staff could see his catch.

It was a thrill, but not as big as the satisfaction of helping pets.

"There's nothing like coming through a big surgery or having a sick patient come around," he said.