Do you know Steve Bartman?
You're looking at Steve Bartman, wearing his now-famous Cubs cap and headphones, who deflected a foul ball away from Cubs left fielder Moises Alou in Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS against the Florida Marlins.
Bartman was sitting in the front row along the left field corner wall behind the bullpen when a pop foul off the bat of Castillo drifted toward his seat.
Cubs left fielder Moises Alou approached the seats, jumped, and reached into the crowd. Bartman and nearby fans also attempted to catch the ball, deflecting it away.
Alou slammed his glove down in frustration and was seen shouting at several fans.
Just to set the tone on this, CHICAGO was ahead 3-0 and holding a 3 games to 2 lead in the best of 7 series.
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.
But, sh_it happens, and so does STEVE BARTMAN.
FLORIDA went on to score 8 runs after the incident. The CUBS did not make the WS.
Folks that hate the CUBS say that cubbie fans found a new scapegoat for the team’s history of futility.
Is that really true?
As a fan, would you have caught or deflected that ball? Would you have stretched your arms outs, pushed people aside to make sure no one touched it and Alou had a play on it?
Many journalists and nearly all the CUBS team believe they beat themselves! They don't think what STEVE BARTON did cost them the game.
Mark Prior (pitcher) said:
"We had chances to get out of that situation. I hung an 0-2 curve ball to Rodriguez that he hit for a single. Alex Gonzalez, who's a sure thing almost at shortstop, the ball came up on him ... and things just snowballed. Everybody in the clubhouse and management knows that play is not the reason we lost the game."
Bartman had to be lead by security for his own safety as other Cubs fans shouted sh_it him and people throwing debris and drinks at him.
Minutes after his "catch", his families personal address and phone number was on MLB and other degenerate web forums. He had police protection for some time afterwards.
Several years later Alou made a comment "he couldn't have caught that ball anyway".
At a later point, he recalled that statement saying he only wanted to make Mr Barton feel better.
Do you feel cheated or betrayed by how s_hitty the CUBS have been over the last few years when you had money riding on them?
Do you think what Steve Bartman is whore s_hit, or would have you done the same thing if it was your team?
Did it cost the CUBS the game, maybe even the WS?
*chris harvard's note; I am not a CUBS homer nor am I a fan. I've lost money on these jerks for years. Any time I win a CUBS bet I thank God for his miracle. You can't afford to be a homer in this busniess, unless you're last years fluke homer bayarea-pric. I'm a NATS fan . Doesn't mean I'm putting any coin on them, anytime soon.
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