Steve Bartman

From Sports Library

Steve Bartman is a Chicago-area man who attended Game Six of the National League Championship Series at Wrigley Field, sitting in the first row of Section 4. In the eighth inning with the Cubs ahead 3-0, a foul ball off the bat of Luis Castillo drifted towards the left field stands. Cubs left fielder Moises Alou attempted to make a play on the ball, but Bartman also attempted to catch the ball to keep as a souvenir.

Castillo later walked and the Marlins went on to score eight runs in the inning. Bartman was removed from the park by security for his own safety and temporarily went into hiding as the Cubs lost Game Seven the next night and their chance at a National League Pennant. Baseball fans will point out that Bartman's role in Game Six might have been a forgotten footnote had Alex Gonzalez fielded a ground ball that almost certainly would have been an inning-ending double play two batters later.

Many fans and media members pointed to Alou's subsequent tirade at Bartman as the reason for the fans turning on him. What many of these people did not realize is that earlier in the season, in a game in early May vs. Colorado, Alou had another potential putout interfered with by a fan in roughly the same seat that Bartman would inhabit over 5 months later. The Cubs eventually lost that game and, had they missed the playoffs entirely, neither Bartman nor the fan from May would be remembered.