23 year anniversary of Infamous cubs fan Steve Bartman incident

[u/capeando]

[u/SwAeromotion]

The Alex Gonzalez error instead of DP game.

[u/threeputtbogeys → u/SwAeromotion]

I’ll die on this hill. It’s the Alex Gonzalez game.

Kind of funny story: I watched this game in my dorm section lounge. After the game I went down to get a blue Powerade from the vending machine. Always blue. Went to get it and realized the code for it was E6. Couldn’t bring myself to do it. First red Powerade I ever had from that machine.

[u/staatsclaas → u/threeputtbogeys]

This is, without a doubt, the most authentic baseball nerd comment I've ever read.

[u/verbutten → u/staatsclaas]

It feels like the spiritual sequel to the Frog 8 story from r/baseball 12ish years ago (!) for some reason

[u/threeputtbogeys → u/staatsclaas]

Lol uhhhh thanks?

[u/mageta621 → u/threeputtbogeys]

Ouch, that's cold of the machine to do that to you

[u/Suitable-Answer-83 → u/threeputtbogeys]

I just realized I've always been thinking of the other Alex Gonzalez when people talk about the Alex Gonzalez error in that game. But then on top of that I realized the other Alex Gonzalez was also playing shortstop in that game.

Alex Gonzalez fans really got to hedge their bets in the 2003 NLCS.

[u/SoCalWhatever → u/Suitable-Answer-83]

That's why the one on the Cubs (and played for Toronto) was always referred to as "Alex S. Gonzalez".

[u/Milktoast375 → u/threeputtbogeys]

This is amazing.

[u/money_over_karma → u/threeputtbogeys]

This is one of the best comments I've read in a long time lol

[u/ReverendRiv19 → u/SwAeromotion]

I’ll never forget the last out of the 2016 NLCS was pretty much the same exact play except Addison Russel actually made it

[u/iowaman79 → u/SwAeromotion]

Yes! If Alex didn’t suddenly forget how to field his position we wouldn’t give a hoot about Bartman

[u/RumBox → u/SwAeromotion]

If The Bear has taught us nothing else!

[u/AwfulMouthful → u/RumBox]

One of the better monologues in TV history IMO: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fcjp-kNFVyQ&t

[u/Parametric_Or_Treat → u/AwfulMouthful]

I 100% believe Oliver Platt watched that game and lived and died with it

[u/gcg2016 → u/Parametric_Or_Treat]

Platt is an honorary Chicagoan.

[u/penguinopph → u/AwfulMouthful]

When I first watched this episode, the moment Cicero said "Alex Gonzalez," I knew exactly where he was going with this.

[u/RumBox → u/AwfulMouthful]

"No, dumbass, you don't wanna be Gonzaales!"

[u/AnswerSpiritual7913]

The other guy was reaching too. He never took any heat for some reason

[u/7Stringplayer → u/AnswerSpiritual7913]

Gray sweater guy didn't take heat. Alex Gonzalez got away without heat for botching the DP. Everitt's incorrect ruling doesn't get any heat. Alou doesn't get heat for acting like a child and throwing a tantrum. All the frustrations went right into Bartman and only Bartman.

[u/mageta621 → u/7Stringplayer]

Alou is understandably frustrated but it unfairly fueled the fire against Bartman. But also there's no guarantee Alou catches it.

Cubs just needed to play better the rest of the inning and nobody would know Bartman's name.

[u/OscarDelta333 → u/mageta621]

Don't forget the television crew continuing to focus the camera on him and mentioning that he was going to need a security team to get him out of there.

[u/JonnyXX → u/OscarDelta333]

This was it for me. The tv crew just needed to be smarter.

[u/mageta621 → u/OscarDelta333]

That too, they made it so much worse

[u/gcg2016 → u/mageta621]

I watched a lot of games that year, and I distinctly remember him catching one right near there a few weeks earlier and was thinking about it as he was getting closer to the wall. Still no guarantee, but I knew it was possible.

[u/trickman01 → u/mageta621]

If it had been publicly know that Alou peed on his hands back then everyone would have been leaning the other direction.

[u/Individual-Time → u/7Stringplayer]

At least The Bear tried to redirect blame to Alex Gonzalez in season 2.

[u/Epcplayer → u/7Stringplayer]

Don’t forget, Dusty Baker leaving his starter out on the mound too long. The Bartman play happened on the 113th pitch… Baker had just called down to the bullpen to get a reliever up.

* Castillo walked the next pitch on a wild pitch
* Rodriguez single on 3rd pitch
* Cabrera E6 on 1st pitch
* Derek Lee double on 1st pitch

Every pitch after the Wild Pitch was swung at. It was clear that Prior’s stuff was gone in the 9 pitch AB to Castillo, and he should’ve had somebody at least somewhat ready to go.

[u/keetojm → u/Epcplayer]

Dusty much like tom thibodaux(sp?) would ride his horses into the ground.

[u/jaggedjottings → u/Epcplayer]

Dusty Baker leaving in his starter too long in a pivotal game 6? I can't imagine that happening to my team.

[u/devilsadvocate → u/jaggedjottings]

That was like….his shtick for so long

[u/argonzo → u/7Stringplayer]

Nor Dusty for saving Matt Clement for Game 8.

[u/Whyyousofat68 → u/AnswerSpiritual7913]

I think its because Bartman sat down and showed that he was sincerely upset that it happened. He made himself vulnerable, was used as a scapegoat, and got destroyed. I always felt terrible for him.

[u/RazorRamonsHappyHour → u/Whyyousofat68]

It's also because he looked pretty dorky with his walkman and glasses on. Unfortunately that makes you an easy target

[u/Whyyousofat68 → u/RazorRamonsHappyHour]

I agree with you. He was a true fan listening to the game on the radio, went to catch a foul ball and was eaten alive for it.

[u/cthulhu5 → u/Whyyousofat68]

I wonder if he heard them talking about him on the radio lol

[u/RazorRamonsHappyHour → u/Whyyousofat68]

Look at the NFL just this week. Harrison Mevis had a game winning kick blocked and it's getting much more publicity because hes a fat kicker. Distinctive looks or characteristics like Bartman or Mevis play a huge part unfortunately

[u/good_morning_magpie → u/RazorRamonsHappyHour]

People are so uncomfortable when you inform them that ethics has an aesthetic. It’s not a hard and fast rule, but even looking at how humans treat animals. More often than not, cute ones get the pass and the “gross slimy ones” (reptiles, amphibians, insects, et al) are treated poorly our outright sought out for extermination.

[u/ManWithASquareHead → u/RazorRamonsHappyHour]

Just listening to Pat and Ron 😭

[u/obi-jawn-kenblomi → u/RazorRamonsHappyHour]

What made it even worse was it was such bad timing that he made for an easy Halloween costume.

[u/Dan_Rydell → u/Whyyousofat68]

Being in a fairly distinctive outfit with the cap and the headphones didn’t help either. It was tough to make a Halloween costume out of the other guy.

[u/DrHarryWolper → u/Whyyousofat68]

And Chicago as a town was horrible about "what's going to screw us over now?" as far as the curse.

[u/thewayshesaidLA → u/AnswerSpiritual7913]

The documentary Catching Hell includes interviews with the people seated around Bartman. If I recall correctly, they call that guy out during the interview.

[u/AsaKurai → u/AnswerSpiritual7913]

Bartman was easier to pick on. The other guy tried to act like a confident bro and let Steve slink back in his chair to take the heat. Unfortunate for Bartman but he never stood a chance with that crowd

[u/Little_Plankton4001]

I loved that The Bear had a whole speech about how Alex Gonzalez's fuckup was 1,000 times more important and that Steve Bartman was just a scapegoat.

I feel like most baseball fans already knew that by then, but it's nice to point it out for the casual fans and general public who only remember Bartman.

[u/trix_is_for_kids → u/Little_Plankton4001]

good speech

[u/chanaandeler_bong → u/Little_Plankton4001]

Words cannot truly express how bad I felt for him THEN and now. Even now I’m tearing up.

I was in HS during this series and I think it just really connected with me because i felt like it was a microcosm of HS bullying.

I felt (and feel) absolutely GUTTED for this dude. I feel like I know him.

The person who is easy to blame.

The person who doesn’t fight back.

The person who everyone makes fun of.

“It’s just a joke.”

I’m so glad he told everyone to kick rocks when they won in 2016. Fuck them all. The cubs and the fans happily leaned into blaming him. Then they want to parade him around like they didn’t literally make his life hell.

He didn’t even touch the fucking ball.

Listening on the radio and wiping a tear away as an angry mob shits all over you, when he was probably a dedicated fan who was with the Cubs through the doldrums.

[u/BodenHammer]

Everyone forgets that after this play, later in the inning , Cubs shortstop Alex Gonzalez mishandled an easy ground ball by Miguel Cabrera that could have been a double play to end the inning. Booted it. But everyone crapped on Steve Bartman. So horrible

[u/goonersaurus86 → u/BodenHammer]

Much like people want to remember Buckner and not Schiraldi and Stanley blowing a lead, complete with a passed ball

[u/zoom518 → u/goonersaurus86]

They were one strike from the title multiple times that inning

And they were up 3-0 into the sixth in game seven

[u/Odd_Fill6084 → u/goonersaurus86]

They had the lead in game 7 as well.

[u/kayzhee → u/BodenHammer]

Another aspect people forget is that it was Game 6 and with Game 7 still to play. Kerry Wood’s HR in Game 7 tied the game and they would take a 5-3 later, the Cubs had a good chance in that game.

[u/gcg2016 → u/kayzhee]

It’s funny. My recollection was that Wood’s HR was the last gasp and they were basically preordained to lose. Memory is a funny thing.

[u/ThoreaulySimple → u/BodenHammer]

Yes, but this isn’t as fun as blaming something odd.

Also, Alou’s temper tantrum immediately after didn’t help. There were a lot of factors. I and most other reasonable people I know felt very bad for Bartman.

[u/bladestorm1745 → u/BodenHammer]

thank you uncle cicero

[u/ericsmallman3 → u/BodenHammer]

Moises Alou freaking out like a child killed the entire team's nerves.

[u/Rimmatimtim22]

That poor guy man. Literally anyone sitting right there would do the same thing. Never hear anyone giving the guy in grey shit right in front of him.

[u/elimanninglightspeed → u/Rimmatimtim22]

I think Alou’s on fjeld reaction made it so much worse in terms of fan vitrol. The wildest part about this happening is 2 decades later it made people completely forget that the cubs blew a 3-1 lead and even the players at the time said to blame them cause at the end of the day they were the ones who committed the errors and cubs had a game before and a game after to make up for it

[u/t_sdad → u/elimanninglightspeed]

I saw an Expos/Astros brawl on here once where Moises threw his helmet frisbee style and hit Terry Collins in the face. That's how I learned that Moises is a dick.

[u/penguinopph → u/t_sdad]

He also used to piss on his hands.

[u/porn_sub_lurker → u/penguinopph]

Greg Maddux used to piss on his teammates.

[u/mythofdob → u/penguinopph]

Alou's pee hands is one of those things that future generations are gonna believe is a translation error

[u/fps916 → u/penguinopph]

This was/is a common old wives tale cure for blisters.

I heard it all the time as a male gymnast to cure blisters/rips

(We know now this is terrible advice)

[u/infectedtwin → u/fps916]

So I’ve been pissing on my hands for no reason?

[u/fps916 → u/infectedtwin]

I do it because it's sterile and I like the [smell]

[u/Important-Gate-7516 → u/elimanninglightspeed]

This. He threw a tantrum and got the crowd fired up and then FOX showed it a hundred times on replay so everyone knew who to sharpen their pitchforks for. After that he was getting pounded with beer and other shit if I remember right.

I'm confident us Brewers fans would throw their hats, shirts and leftover change in their pocket before they ever chucked a beer on a fellow fan haha

[u/NetLumpy1818 → u/elimanninglightspeed]

Exactly. This was game 6. They still had another game which they lost. He didn't cost them nothing but an out. Same thing with Bill Buckner's miss and Gretzky's high stick on Gilmour. Game 6 incidents and the team lost in Game 7.

[u/Helpmepullupmypants → u/Rimmatimtim22]

Dude, like all of us, I’ve seen this clip a billion times BUT I just now double checked it and of course I notice everyone reaching for the ball, Steve was just the unfortunate one whose hand it hit.

[u/jackospades88 → u/Helpmepullupmypants]

Yeah the guy in front on him, reaching back but just as aggressively trying to catch it certainly must feel like he dodged a HUGE bullet.

[u/smoke_inyoureyes → u/Helpmepullupmypants]

and you just know those other dudes who didn’t catch it joined in with everyone else in cussing and booing at him after

[u/DP487 → u/Rimmatimtim22]

I don't know if you've ever seen the 30 for 30 about this, but they talked to a few of the people who were seated around Bartman. One lady said — and this is backed up by B-roll ESPN got — Bartman turned around and asked if she thought he did something wrong.

I can't imagine sitting there with that feeling. My heart still breaks for the guy 23 years later.

[u/elementofpee → u/Rimmatimtim22]

Yeah, context aside, he didn’t do anything different than what that Yankee fan did last week - “ball’s coming towards me, try to catch it”

[u/StevenMC19 → u/elementofpee]

If anything, it's more on the Umps for not making a correct call on the play.

It's why Jeffrey Maier is so infamous.

edit: No one is going to remember the name of the dude who had no effect on a game like the Yankees fan reaching over the fence...or the Yankees fan that pried open Mookie Betts' glove. As long is right call is made, it's just going to be a "oh yeah I remember that" deep cut memory ten years from now that didn't change anything.

edit edit: spelling...I'm tired.

[u/secretsodapop → u/StevenMC19]

The mookie one is also more comical than anything.

[u/StevenMC19 → u/secretsodapop]

It's the slo-mo watching his face go full Gollum. lmao

[u/TommySalo35 → u/elementofpee]

actually the yankee fan was worse, the bartman ball was going in the crowd ( if the player missed the catch) the yankee fan grabbed a fair ball that was going to bounce of the wall and back in play.

[u/Jr05s → u/elementofpee]

Well his ball was in foul territory and the yanks ball was in fair

[u/Novel_Ad_4921 → u/Rimmatimtim22]

I would've caught it

[u/Chichanged_me → u/Novel_Ad_4921]

I’m doing the Heisman after I snag it

[u/NoDaddyNotTheBelt25 → u/Rimmatimtim22]

Shit we’ve seen fans do much worse since.

[u/buhwalhashin → u/Rimmatimtim22]

At least the cubbies gave him a ring

[u/Ok-Half3342 → u/Rimmatimtim22]

Would that have been Alou’s greatest catch ever? He wasn’t exactly known for defense

[u/Bigringcycling → u/Rimmatimtim22]

Exactly, everyone there was doing the same thing. He just happened to come in contact with it. Also, it's kind of good it happened before social media because the amount of abuse/threats he received then would be 1000x today.

[u/Silent2840 → u/Bigringcycling]

Steve said when he got home that night his house was trashed. You're definitely right about social media.

[u/Drew_You_To_91]

Imagine how much worse this would’ve been with social media and sports gambling, still feel terrible for him.

[u/deaddisciples]

That 30 for 30 documentary about it was great. Poor guy, I wonder if the cubs winning the chip brought him some closure

[u/ILM_Ryan → u/deaddisciples]

It’s amazing how the documentary was able to track down so many people sitting in that section from the game, to interview.

[u/ThePopesicle → u/ILM_Ryan]

All the ESPN docs on this have been phenomenal

[u/Ok-Preparation617 → u/deaddisciples]

They tried to make amends

[u/Maximum_Pen_2508 → u/deaddisciples]

I thought I read somewhere that Theo sent him a ring. Probably doesn’t make up for life altering. But a nice gesture.

[u/Tekki → u/Maximum_Pen_2508]

https://www.mlb.com/news/steve-bartman-receives-ws-ring-from-cubs-c245543604?partnerID=mlbapp-android_article-share

[u/misterjez → u/Tekki]

Didn't know this. I feel better. I hope Steve is doing better.

[u/Worrywort____ → u/Maximum_Pen_2508]

It honestly feels super thoughtful, it's really nice to learn they did that. Jays will stay my team but Cubs have been and will continue to be one of those other teams I have a soft spot for, so long as they aren't playing the Jays lol 😊

[u/ManWithASquareHead → u/deaddisciples]

I wouldn't be surprised if he gave up being a Cubs fan after how he was vilified for what every fan in that situation would have done

[u/Maximum_Pen_2508 → u/ManWithASquareHead]

He didn’t though. What did that thirty for thirty voiceover say? Something like what if I told you he was the only true cubs fan. To go through all that and still love his team. How can you not be romantic about baseball right? Hope he gets everything he ever wished for.

[u/SwAeromotion → u/deaddisciples]

To a degree. The Cubs FO presented him a staff level championship ring.

[u/jrbill1991 → u/deaddisciples]

The best 30 for 30 ever produced, in my opinion.

[u/drummerboysam]

To this day, this stands as one of the blackest marks on Chicago sports from a fanbase perspective.

Just some dude going it alone for his beloved baseball team in the playoffs. In his zone, listening to the radio call while watching live. Ball hit to him, he and everyone around him reaches for it, and his life is changed forever.

Dude was never to blame, no more than any of the people around him were. He had to flee the city and move to Florida [edit - apparently the move to Florida part was a fabrication that stuck years ago and has been debunked]. A lot went into the meltdown that blew this series for the Cubs, and Bartman is a footnote that became the focus.

[u/StevenMC19 → u/drummerboysam]

There was a documentary about this, and he was always in Chicago iirc.

He just retreated into his shell a bit more and didn't go out much. I think he might have even stopped volunteering at a kids' recreational center. I'll have to look it up again. But yeah he never left Chicago as far as I'm aware.

edit: I'm still not remembering fully, but I feel like I need to clarify that I distinctly remember him doing something charitable for children, whether it was volunteering or donating to causes. So while my initial thought may be incorrect, I know there's something that he's done that should be lauded.

[u/Little_Plankton4001 → u/drummerboysam]

He didn't move to Florida. That's a myth.

There's no evidence he ever left the Chicago area. An ESPN reporter even tracked him down at work a few years after the incident.

[u/Tekki → u/Little_Plankton4001]

Chicago guy here.

He never left, and focused on living a very private life. He had a go between for any contact, including from the cubs org.

Cubs reached out to him after 2016 through his go between, and got him a champ ring

https://www.mlb.com/news/steve-bartman-receives-ws-ring-from-cubs-c245543604

[u/mageta621 → u/Tekki]

Link seems broken, but that's nice of the organization

[u/Tekki → u/mageta621]

Fixed

https://www.mlb.com/news/steve-bartman-receives-ws-ring-from-cubs-c245543604

[u/gravteck → u/Little_Plankton4001]

I think I remember that article. The guy did his best Deep Throat impression and found him in a parking garage

[u/Little_Plankton4001 → u/gravteck]

Yeah, the ending of the article is about how the reporter realized that Bartman deserves to be left alone, so he never devulges where he actually found him, just that it was "somewhere in the Chicago suburbs."

[u/good_morning_magpie → u/Little_Plankton4001]

I can’t explain why, but I just know it’s Naperville.

I can feel it in my plums.

[u/hammr25 → u/Little_Plankton4001]

That story was super creepy. He stalked Bartman.

[u/ZubatCountry → u/drummerboysam]

Fan interference is a goofball ass call anyways

It should happen like five times maximum in the history of the game before a solution is found

Build the rail near the field thicker, put a partition or a wider footpath between the front rows and the rail

Asking a fan who had a ball hit right towards them to also be aware of where players are in the field and the probability of the catch is a ludicrous and unrealistic demand

What if it's a kid? You gonna throw them out because you couldn't come up with a more defined guideline than "just don't like, touch it if it's kinda close I guess"

[u/Dan_iel10]

One of the most shameful incidents in sports for what people did to Steve Bartman

[u/jayeffdee → u/Dan_iel10]

The blowback that Steve Bartman received made me stop being a Cubs fan.

[u/Herlihy-Boy]

Alou’s tantrum made things so much worse.

[u/DanimalMKE → u/Herlihy-Boy]

I think if Alou didn't react then it wouldn't have been remembered at all. And perhaps the game would've ended differently. Imo the team lost composure which resulted in Gonzalez's error

[u/DSOTMAnimals → u/DanimalMKE]

I coach high school baseball and I reference Alou all the time. When you’re in the field and you make an error and you throw your glove or hat everyone feeds off it and your negativity is infectious.

[u/Xearoii → u/DSOTMAnimals]

And the other team sees a  weakness and vulnerability

[u/AwfulMouthful → u/Herlihy-Boy]

The Alous are a family of crybabies.

[u/Starbucks__Lovers]

I’ll always remember a political cartoon with osama bin Laden and saddam Hussein in a cave together watching the game with one of them saying “I’d hate to be that guy right now”

[u/Which-Seat-9970]

Following the ruling of no interference, the Cubs' defense collapsed. On the very next pitch, Mark Prior threw a wild pitch to walk Castillo and allow Juan Pierre to reach third base. After a run-scoring single by Ivan Rodriguez to cut the Cubs' lead to 3–1, Cubs shortstop Alex Gonzalez) mishandled a ground ball by Miguel Cabrera that could have resulted in an inning-ending double play. The Cubs ultimately allowed eight runs) in the inning and lost the game 8–3. They also lost Game 7 at Wrigley Field the following day and were eliminated by the Marlins.

[u/mesquitegrrl → u/Which-Seat-9970]

my lord. i knew there were other errors to contribute to this but i never knew this happened with the cubs up 3-0. people make it seem like the score was close with two outs and this was a potentially inning-ending play. blame some guy whose little league reflex kicked in for grabbing a ball when you go on to allow eight runs in an inning.

[u/CoolBeansMan9 → u/mesquitegrrl]

Alex Gonzalez is a BIG Bettman fan

[u/1HappyRoadrunner → u/mesquitegrrl]

Oh the cubs completely fell apart after Alou's meltdown... whole team just melted. Then blamed the fan.

[u/Epcplayer]

The thing I always remember from this was a smug Governor Rod Blagojevich stating “if he commits a crime, he won’t get a pardon from this governor…”

Blagojevich would later need to get his own pardon after being found guilty of corruption.

[u/BriSy33 → u/Epcplayer]

As is illinois tradition

[u/Able-Walrus6887]

I always felt bad for Bartman. Lunatic fans made his life miserable over that.

[u/rogue12277]

Yeah, fuck Moises Alou, his temper tantrum is half the reason anyone even noticed Bartman's involvement. And the rest of the Cubs team ain't much better; had they not completely choked away the game before and after this, no one would remember this play at all.

[u/Duce-de-Zoop → u/rogue12277]

The worst was Chicago Sun Times and Jay Mariotti,, who decided to publish his name, job and address. Beyond unethical. Literally no good reason to do that.

[u/king_bungholio → u/Duce-de-Zoop]

Roger Ebert absolutely fucking hated Jay Mariotti.

[u/daymanahhhahhhh → u/king_bungholio]

Roger Ebert was always so based. RIP

[u/TasteTheBiscuit1810 → u/Duce-de-Zoop]

Jay Mariotti went to jail for something I believe. I know he got booted from Around The Horn real quick.

[u/Unabashed-Citron4854 → u/TasteTheBiscuit1810]

Stalking and assaulting his girlfriend.

[u/daymanahhhahhhh → u/Unabashed-Citron4854]

It's always the people you most expect

[u/rogue12277 → u/Duce-de-Zoop]

That kind of shit makes my blood absolutely boil honestly. Guys like that give the journalism industry (a very important one in any functioning society) such a bad rap, all cause he decided to be a pathetic asshole.

[u/jg_92_F1 → u/Duce-de-Zoop]

Always hated Mariotti when he was on Around the Horn back in the day.

[u/ManWithASquareHead → u/Duce-de-Zoop]

Wild, I remember him on Around the Horn. What a dirtbag

[u/pepperouchau → u/Duce-de-Zoop]

Damn they straight up published his address? I knew people messed with his house but assumed they had to do some digging for that info

[u/larkspurwoods → u/rogue12277]

For real. Like regardless of what this guy did, he didn’t make them concede 8 unanswered runs in the 8th inning and then lose again the next day

[u/ReverendRiv19 → u/rogue12277]

A big factor was also the production crew replaying it over and over too so people at home kept seeing it and relayed to people they knew in the stadium

[u/fireeight]

Any baseball fan is trying to catch that ball. It's not like he hung way over the fence into the field. Dude got dragged for doing something that any of us would do.

[u/tinathefatlardgosh → u/fireeight]

Dragged is an understatement, he and his family were sent death threats and I believe it took 16 years before he was finally vindicated.

[u/Rebuilt_in_Silence]

I would highly recommend the Bartman 30 for 30 if you haven't seen it. Absolutely insane what he had to go through that night.

[u/Distinct_Ad_2821]

Now do the Red Sox one

Here comes the pizza!

[u/tinathefatlardgosh → u/Distinct_Ad_2821]

The wheezing laugh right after the ‘pizza’ line is what makes it.

[u/RumBox → u/tinathefatlardgosh]

And he's the Pepsi fan of the game until he gets thrown out for ruining a perfectly good slice of pizza

[u/captain_ahabb → u/tinathefatlardgosh]

During the break we did a little investigative repawting

[u/Eddiebacon → u/captain_ahabb]

I wonder what his thought process was? "Honey, I'm going to the game today and if I see a guy I'm gonna throw a slice of pizza at him."

[u/Loch_Doun → u/tinathefatlardgosh]

I miss Don  calling Sox games, the Padres are lucky to have him. RIP Jerry Remy

[u/bikari → u/Distinct_Ad_2821]

I can hear this in my head exactly how he says it, lol. I love how he's in the middle of narrating the slow motion clip, and it's like the pizza toss catches him by surprise. I watch this whenever I need a cheering up.

I also love how the graphic came up right after it happened naming him the Pepsi fan of the game.

The whole 3+ minute video is just solid gold: https://youtu.be/ufSQMXLO95w

[u/StrengthToBreak]

That Cubs team was so talented, and so weak-minded. They were already in the process of choking and the Bartman play was just the excuse they needed.

Compare ot to the team that actually won the WS, which IMO was a slightly less talented team that was led by a few extremely hard-headed vets abd a bunch of young players who simply didn't seem to care about the history.

[u/Little-Lord-FckleRoy]

An important reminder that while sports can bring out the best in people, it also has the capacity to bring out the worst

[u/taterlol]

watched it live, was ~10 years old so this was my first “some sports fans are sickos” moment. he didn’t deserve the level of vitriol he received.

[u/Unfair_Importance_37]

Cubs fans deserve hate for what they did to Bartman

[u/Total_Corgi_8428 → u/Unfair_Importance_37]

Yeah I worked at the same company as him at the time and he very much had to adopt a reclusive lifestyle.

[u/rickeygavin]

Cubs played bad enough after that to lose the series on principle.

[u/Reasonable-Power]

If you look up "scapegoat" in the dictionary, this picture might pop up.

[u/menusettingsgeneral]

It’s wild because he hardly even reached over.

[u/tinathefatlardgosh]

IIRC, he was wiping his face because someone threw a beer at him. They did not do him any favors by repeatedly showing him and his location on the Jumbotron afterwards to the point that he had to be escorted out by police officers for his safety.

[u/ssssharkattack]

How was his name found out in the first place? Seems wildly irresponsible. Poor guy had a lethal combination of being instantly recognizable with an unforgettable name to match. Bartman? Seriously??

[u/Sarollas → u/ssssharkattack]

He got doxxed on early internet boards pretty quickly. It's not dissimilar to what used to happen on reddit.

That ultimately was not the massive issue however.

The Chicago Sun Times published not only his name, but also his address in their next edition, which is fucking wild.

[u/Puzzleheaded_Tank338 → u/ssssharkattack]

His name, address, everything was on the website The Smoking Gun almost immediately. I remember it.

[u/ResolutionHonest666 → u/Puzzleheaded_Tank338]

Dude got hardcore doxxed when it wasnt even really a thing yet. Early days. He had to go into hiding for a couple years.

[u/OrangeJuliusCaesr → u/ssssharkattack]

Dude was a pillar in his community, I shit you not. Known cubs super fan, teacher, little league coach and volunteer and all around good guy

[u/Dr-McLuvin → u/OrangeJuliusCaesr]

That’s really sad

[u/Fair-Bee-1560]

Not much to say. Just a really dark moment in Cubs history. Horrific and disgusting reactions from a good number of Cubs fans and Alou himself. I guess a 95-year world series drought brings out the worst in people. It's been a very long time. Steve Bartman is probably doing all right now, but the hell had to put up with for a long time after this, particularly that very night is so very sad. He went there to hopefully watch his team punch their ticket to the world series. Just five outs away from that and his life, completely undeservingly, gets flipped upside down in a moment instead.

[u/Former_Lock9367]

I'm glad people are more reasonable nowadays towards this guy. 2016 definitely helped, but people still ruined this guy's life for this.

[u/Hokie_Pilot → u/Former_Lock9367]

It’s such a despicable part of baseball history. I love sports, I spend most of my weekends watching sports, talking about it during the week with friends and coworkers, but to ruin a fan’s life over it, is sad.

Not to mention there were many other opportunities for the Cubs to end the curse

It’s really easy after 2016 to be like “hey buddy, here is a ring!” when everyone is all happy, but real character shows when times are tough

[u/sock_express34]

Leave the poor guy alone

[u/Jazzlike_Finish123]

Always felt so bad for this guy.  Such shitty circumstances.  Anyone would have done the same thing and there were 10 other people literally doing it when it happened.  He just happened to be the one to touch the ball.

[u/DeanMcQueen0621]

Nevemind the fucking error by Gonzalez on a tailor-made made DP ball to short. Nevermind Dusty not having anyone warming in the pen. It was all Bartmann.

[u/Lost_Bike69]

Those 4-5 guys around Bartman also reaching for the foul ball got so lucky

[u/Pemulis_DMZ]

Should continue to show the cubs blowing an easy double play.

[u/Cookieboymonster]

I watched that game live and afterwards the cameras just kept showing him, and showing him, and he looked like he was actually shrinking in his seat. The TV director was doing something incredibly dangerous and I thought so at the time as did a lot of others I'm sure.

[u/GranddaddySandwich]

A huge reason for why I say “Fuck Cubs fans” is because of how they overreacted and treated this guy. Fuck the Cubs.

[u/greenbean2112]

And Cubs fans ruined his life for it!

[u/Texas_Kimchi]

Moises Alou ruined this guys life for a ball he was never going to sniff.

[u/NunsNunchuck → u/Texas_Kimchi]

Yeah he said year later that he would not have caught it. But he keeps flip-flopping his answer.

[u/caz151991]

Never seen this before. Did it have any impact on the game/series?

[u/Slouchy87 → u/caz151991]

Cubs had other opportunities to win this game but that is never talked about.

[u/Total_Corgi_8428 → u/Slouchy87]

Alex Gonzales’s error is brought up often but I agree the next game (game 7) doesn’t come up enough when discussing that series.

[u/TheThirstyPenguin → u/caz151991]

Some partial answers to your question.

Cubs were up 3-2 in the series looking to win their first pennant in almost 60 years. They were up 3-0 in the 8th when this happened, 5 outs away from punching their ticket to the World Series and getting closer to breaking their curse of the billy goat.

After this moment, their defense fell apart. Eight runs come across for the Marlins and the Cubs are forced to play a game 7.

They had a lead in game 7 and Kerry Wood even hit a HR from the pitcher spot to give himself a chance! But he couldn’t hold the Marlins bats down and Florida put up 9 runs to win their second pennant in 7 years. It forced Cubs fans to wait another 13 years before they ultimately broke the curse and opened up the portal that dragged the rest of us into this fucked up timeline.

So you could argue it rattled the Cubs and ruined game 6 but they could’ve won it in game 7. Bartman is unfairly blamed for continuing the curse, but for a while he was the face of it.

[u/TheNegativePhoenix → u/TheThirstyPenguin]

   forced Cubs fans to wait another 13 years before they ultimately broke the curse and opened up the portal that dragged the rest of us into this fucked up timeline.

Hahahaha , so it's the Cubs fault all along? Damn

[u/Girth_Wind_y_Fire → u/caz151991]

Nah, cubs just choked and blamed this poor kid.

[u/PoisonGaz → u/Girth_Wind_y_Fire]

Really a smear on the fan base. That guy got absolutely hammered for nothing.

[u/Frosti11icus → u/PoisonGaz]

Amazing what they were able to do to him pre social media lol. Truly pioneering stuff.

[u/elimanninglightspeed → u/Girth_Wind_y_Fire]

*some Cubs fans did. A lot of the cubs players came to his defense

[u/Newone1255 → u/Girth_Wind_y_Fire]

They gave him a World Series ring in 16’. I always thought that was really classy

[u/Skurph → u/caz151991]

It’s funny because Cubs fans acted like this was basically a guy robbing Alou of catching a walk off homerun, but even at the time I was like “It was a foul ball… if the Cubs do literally any part of their job after this they would’ve won.”

Completely obnoxious that everyone keyed in on this play that largely was inconsequential rather than the MULTIPLE players who blew this for the Cubs thereafter.

[u/secretsodapop → u/Skurph]

At the time literally everyone in the sports community would watch sports center in the morning before going to work or school and ESPN was showing this over and over.

[u/Mysterious-Park9142 → u/caz151991]

I was 13 at the time but this comment makes me feel 4000 years old

[u/biscuit-pants → u/caz151991]

It’s pretty crazy but they decided to cancel the season right after this happened

[u/cooljammer00]

History did this guy dirty

I know the Cubs tried to offer him a ring or something in 2016 and he rightfully said "I'm good, thanks". Probably already moved on and tried to pick up the pieces after people tried to ruin his life.

[u/SwAeromotion → u/cooljammer00]

He accepted the ring but rightly declined a public appearance for it but did make a public statement through media.

[u/Nuggs4Lyfe]

As a White Sox fan, this is one of my personal favorites. Helped teenage me realize I'd never root for the Cubs after seeing how they scapegoated Bartman.

[u/crjburner]

Wow that was pretty close to a drive into deep left field 

[u/Most-Artichoke6184]

An unfortunate combination of a very distinct looking get up at the game and a very, very distinct name.

[u/Mobile-Language8398]

Chicago ruined this dudes life. We see this everyday at ballparks.

[u/AdministrationStuff]

Marlins scored 8 runs after this, then blew game 7. Complete melt down from the Cubs and they used Steve Bartman as their scapegoat

[u/hollyw00d8604]

watching the documentary on this just made me pissed at Moises alou. he seems like a real douche

[u/SwAeromotion → u/hollyw00d8604]

Funny thing you mention Alou and pissed....

[u/NotGreg]

Watched this live, an insane movement.

My favorite memory of that marlins team was ol Jack mceon looked older than heck to me as a 16 year old kid. Just looked a hundred years old to me. He’s still alive!