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N0KFQ > TODAY 14.10.15 16:22l 67 Lines 3231 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 69961_N0KFQ
Read: GUEST
Subj: Today in History - Oct 14
Path: IW8PGT<CX2SA<N9PMO<NS2B<N0KFQ
Sent: 151014/1420Z 69961@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA BPQ1.4.64
2003
Steve Bartman catches ball
On October 14, 2003, a Chicago Cubs fan named Steve Bartman
plucks a fly ball out of the air before outfielder Moises Alou
can catch it_a catch that would have been a crucial out_in the
sixth game of the league championship series against the Florida
Marlins. As a result of Bartman's interference, the Cubs lost
their momentum and the game. Bartman was escorted from Wrigley
Field by security guards as bloodthirsty fans hurled beer cans
and other debris at his head. The next day, he went into
hiding_but not before he told the press that "I've been a Cub fan
all my life and fully understand the relationship between my
actions and the outcome of the gam_I am so truly sorry from the
bottom of this Cubs fan's broken heart."
It was the eighth inning of the sixth game of the NLCS, and the
Cubs were just five outs away from their first World Series since
1945-five outs away from proving once and for all that the famous
Curse of the Billy Goat was dead. (Legend has it that a local bar
owner and Cubs fan brought his pet goat to the fourth game of the
1945 World Series against the Tigers, but got thrown out in the
middle of the game because, his seatmates said, the pair smelled
like a barnyard. The goat's insulted owner then declared that the
team would never win another pennant. When Chicago lost to the
Tigers a few days later, he sent a telegram to Wrigley that said
simply: "Who stinks now?")
Pitcher Mark Prior had a 3-0 lead, and he was on a roll. Cubs
fans were sure their team was finally going all the way. Even
when Florida's Juan Pierre hit a double, things still looked good
for the Cubs. Then, all of a sudden, they didn't: Switch-hitter
Luis Castillo stepped to the plate, worked a full count and
cranked the ball hard toward the left-field fence. Moises Alou
raced backward, jumped up and reached for the ball. He would have
had it, too, but just then Bartman reached out and grabbed it
just before it landed in Alou's glove. The ump called the ball
foul; Castillo went back to the plate; and an agitated Prior
walked him in nine pitches. In the meantime, Pierre had moved to
third on a wild pitch. Florida had men on the corners, the tying
run at the plate and just one out.
All hell broke loose. A single to left scored Pierre. Then Cubs
shortstop Alex Gonzalez missed a routine grounder and the bases
were loaded. After that, team manager Dusty Baker said, "we
couldn't stop the bleeding. They just started hitting the ball
all over everywhere." By the end of the inning, the Marlins had
scored eight runs and forced a seventh game.
Making matters worse for Bartman, Florida won the next game_and
the NLCS_9-6. The Sun-Times printed his name and his picture
under the headline "Cursed." A Chicago alderman pointedly
suggested that Bartman might consider moving to Alaska; Florida
governor Jeb Bush gleefully recommended that he consider moving
south instead. It seemed clear, as one Marlins fan noted dryly,
that "this guy is their new goat." Chicago has begun to forgive
him, but it's unlikely to ever forget. Meanwhile, the Cubs still
haven't won a pennant.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: kohiggs@gmail.com
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