Steve Bartman
If you're reading this blog, you probably know who Steve Bartman is.
But in case you don't, he's the infamous Cubs fan who "interfered" with a foul ball during the 2003 playoffs at Wrigley Field. He was in the front row down the left field line when he tried (unsuccessfully) to make a catch and, in the process, prevented Cubs left fielder Moises Alou from making the play. The inning was prolonged, and the Marlins scored a bunch of runs, and the Cubs ended up losing, and everyone blamed Bartman, who later issued an apology through the media and changed his phone number and went into hiding because he received death threats--and that was just the beginning.
So...
For the record, I'd like to say that Bartman didn't do anything wrong. If you watch the replay closely, you'll see that he did not reach OUT of the stands. Yes, he reached out, but when he made contact with the ball, his hands were directly above the edge of the wall. Therefore, he technically did not "interfere" with the ball (which is why I keep putting the word "interfere" in quotes).
Did he do a stupid thing? Yes. He's a Cubs fan. People felt--and I agreed at first--that he should have had the presence of mind to stay away from the wall and let Alou make the catch.
But did he do the natural thing? Yes. The whole "presence of mind" argument is unrealistic. Just about anyone sitting there would've gotten caught up in the excitement and reached for the ball. As you can see, several people around him WERE reaching for it.
So c'mon, let's give Bartman a break. His only crime is being a klutz who can't catch.
Another person who falls into that category: Jeffrey Maier. Don't even get me started. All I'm going to say is that if you ARE going to be an idiot and interfere (no quotes) with a ball, at least catch the damn thing.
In 1992 at Yankee Stadium, four years before the Maier incident, I was sitting in the first row behind the wall in right field when Joe Orsulak sent a deep drive my way. I jumped up, scurried to the edge of the wall, reached out, realized at the last second that the ball was falling short, and jerked my glove back, just in time to allow Yankees right fielder Dion James to make a leaping catch. I could have easily caught the ball, but I let it go because I respected the game, even then as an obnoxious/overzealous 14-year-old. Security came over and actually tried to eject me for "interfering" (notice the quotes) and started walking me toward the runway despite my protest. Luckily, the JumboTron was playing a slow-motion replay at that moment, so I made the guards stop and watch it. They saw that I had, in fact, pulled my glove back and not "interfered," so they let me return to my seat.
"Don't do that again," one of them said.
"Don't do WHAT," I thought, "FOLLOW the rules?!"
There was another similar incident at Shea a few years later involving a ball hit by Tony Gwynn, and I let that one go, too, which is why I have no tolerance for fans who interfere with balls in play, but anyway, it's only one week until I leave for Cincinnati.
Zack, awesome recounting of your run in with Yankee security at 14. Glad it all worked out for you that night. I got to tell you though, I don't agree with you at all on the whole Steve Bartman saga. To me it simply sounds like you are defending that jerk even though I know you will fight tooth and nail that you aren't. I have watched the replay, not reply as you noted, had to poke fun at you there, and my mind was made up long ago. So what if he missed the ball. The bottom line is, Bartman was very wrong and he did interfere, technically or not and you know full well that we will argue about this forever and ever. LOL!!!! As for Jeffrey Maier, he is another jerk with even worse results because if you think about it, it helped the Yankees win a ballgame.
George
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Oh boy here we go.....Right after the play was over , a replay was shown from the Cubs dugout camera which shows that the ball CLEARLY never crossed the plain of the brick wall . Not only was Mike Everitt's call incorrect but he was not in position to make the call. Mike was at least 10 feet away from the wall which gave him a poor angle to which to make his judgement.Kind of like the angle from which your photo was taken from. Even when you look closely at your photo , Batmans hands , and forearms are in the field of play . I would judge his elbows to be even with the wall. Look at Moises glove , its not in the stands or against the wall. If they ever replay the game on Espn classics look for that first replay and you will agree with me. Im done . Have a nice day. :) GO CUBS
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Well Zack, I guess I am the first one to agree with you about Steve Bartman. Anyone would've done that same thing, especially with how rowdy the cubs fans are. Cubs fans just love to make excuses for their team's famous chokejob. These excuses are the exact reason why, even though I live in the Chicago area, that I am not a Cubs fan. GO BREWERS!
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George-
You're telling me that if you were sitting down the line at Shea and there was a foul ball and Cliff Floyd was running over to make the catch, you would have had the presence of mind to get out of his way? Okay. Fine. I'm sure there's never been a typo in anything you've written. ;-)
Dave-
Here we go, indeed. I was watching the game on TV at the time, but I don't remember the camera angle that you're talking about. If that is the case, then I stand corrected...that is, in saying that the ball was even with the wall...but it doesn't affect my opinion of Bartman. I wouldn't say his elbows are past the wall. Maybe his wrists. Maybe an inch or two of forearm. But he's not leaning or reaching OUT for the ball. He never made a brazen attempt to interfere. He was, in my opinion, just tracking it the whole way and then drifted slightly with it as it approached him without realizing that—god forbid—it was a couple of inches over the wall. Anyway, I appreciate your comment. I'll look for that replay. And yes, go Cubs! I'll be seeing them in Houston on August 17th.
raider-
I knew I was gonna take some heat for this entry, so it's nice to get a little love. And yes, go Brewers! I'll be seeing them on the 18th right after the Cubs leave town. I pretty much always root for the visiting team because if they take a big lead, the ballpark clears out by the 7th inning stretch.
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Zack, Yes indeed I would have the presence of mind to get out of the way. There is absolutely nothing that would cause me to hurt my team's chances of winning. Afterall, I am there to see them win, not lose. If I want a ball that badly, I would buy one. As a matter of fact, I would be yelling to the fans around me to allow our Met player to catch the ball. No sense in possibly ruining the outcome of the game as Jerk Bartman did with his Cubbies. Nope, nope, nope, I will not partake in any of that nonsense. ;)
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You sound very sure of yourself, and you've always been a man of your word, so I believe you. And you make a convincing argument, too. And you frighten me.
Did you see that play by David Wright?! Oh my LORD.
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Zack, thank you for the kind words. Oh yes indeed, David Wright is the man!!!!!
George
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