Originally Posted by
Mac4Lyfe
Jason Kipnis grew up down the street from Bartman in their Chicago suburb of Northbrook. They went to the same St. Norbert Catholic School. His sister was the same age as him. Kipnis even shared the same passion as him. Together, they were diehard Chicago Cubs fans.
Kipnis went onto to become the Cleveland Indians’ All-Star second baseman and will be in the starting lineup tonight for Game 1 of the 112th World Series against the Chicago Cubs at Progressive Field.
The other, well, remains shrouded in mystery.
In a series that features a litany of compelling story lines, with the two teams having the longest combined drought in World Series history at 174 years, the most captivating drama is Kipnis’.
He was a Cubs fan, through and through.
His uncle delivered one of Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg’s children.
He loved Sammy Sosa, Mark Grace, Kerry Wood and the boys.
He was heartbroken when the Cubs collapsed in the 2003 NLCS against the Florida Marlins, blowing a 3-1 lead.
He was terrified when police cars spent the next month camped down the street, outside Bartman’s house, trying to assure his safety after all of the death threats, for simply being the poor soul whose hands deflected the foul ball from the glove of left fielder Moises Alou.
“He didn’t deserve that. He’s a nice guy. He didn’t need to be put in that situation.
“I haven’t seen him since. I don’t think not many people in Chicago have seen him since. There’s some dumb fans that have ruined it for him.”