
I haven't had much time to watch a lot of TV lately. I am way behind on Top Chef and haven't seen an episode of The Office on Thursday nights since it started back up. (Not that I am missing a lot...R.I.P. Michael Scott.) But I did find myself watching E.S.P.N.'s E60 this week on Steve Bartman. Know him? You may not. But if you followed the Chicago Cubs back in 2003 or just baseball for that matter, then you know that on one fateful night in October 2003 an incident happened that has defined the Chicago Cubs and baseball for that matter since then. In the eighth inning of Game 6 of the National League Championship Series, with Chicago ahead 3–0 and holding a 3 games to 2 lead in the best of 7 series, several spectators attempted to catch a foul ball off the bat of Marlins' second baseman Luis Castillo. One of the fans, Steve Bartman, reached for the ball, disrupting a potential catch by Cubs outfielder Moisés Alou. If Alou had caught the ball, it would have been the second out in the inning, and the Cubs would have been just four outs away from winning the National League pennant. Instead, the Cubs ended up surrendering eight runs in the inning, giving up the lead. They went on to lose the game. When they were eliminated in the seventh game the next day, the "Steve Bartman incident" was seen as the turning point of the series.
Now, I don't wanna be overly dramatic, but seriously. Chicago...you went on to give up 8 runs. Was this incident a momentum killer. Probably not. Did maybe you all leave the pitcher in too long? At the time it was Mark Prior was on the top of his game. He was an all-star that year and finished 3rd in the voting for the Cy Young award and even finished 9 for National League MVP. So more than likely he had enough gas. Did he maybe get rattled? I don't think so. Here's why. No one even really knew that it was a catchable ball until fan's outside the stadium kept showing the play on TV's and then the crowd lost it. It was just a routine foul ball. Bartman did nothing more than anyone else would have done.
What happened after that? To me, this is the very reason why the Chicago Cubs should never win a World Series. The needed a scapegoat. The blamed the entire loss on a man that went for a foul ball. Shouting "we're gonna kill you!!!" and calling him all kinds of unmentionable names. Throwing brats and hotdogs on a him. Spilling and throwing beer on him. Seriously. I mean this, I felt like crying for this man even when I watched it live. The Cub's fan's needed someone to beat down for a loss, but it was gonna be a guy that went for a foul ball. What about Dusty Baker who is notorious for leaving pitchers in too long? What about the error on the shortstop on the next pitch?
A man was threatened to the point of death. Over what? Chicago...I had inadvertently forgotten just how bad you treated this man, who is STILL in hiding, until the other night watching it on E60. The Cub's don't ever deserve to win a World Series. At least until they give the key to the city to Steve Bartman and a huge apology!!!
This goes deeper though and should hurt much more than just this one incident. Father's fighting father's over foul balls. Coaches yelling at 15 year old umpires over ball's and strike's. Kid's standing over players when they make a good play or chest bumping each other after making a good play. We have gotten to a point where we need to get some perspective.



