The Steve Bartman Incident

Welcome back to A Moment in History, I'm Seth Tedinsky. On October 14, 2003, 95 years to the day after their last World Series win, the Chicago Cubs held a three games to two series lead in the best of seven NLCS against the underdog Florida Marlins. Chicago, finishing the series in front of their raucous home crowd at Wrigley Field, could taste their first World Series berth since 1945 with one out in the top of the eighth inning, their ace Mark Pryor throwing the game of his life on the mound, and a comfortable 3-0 lead. With a full count, Marlins infielder Luis Castillo fouled a pitch down the left field line that looked like it would fall out of play in the stands, but left fielder Moises Alou had a chance at the ball, leaping up to grab it for the second out. With several fans reaching for the foul ball, one fan accidentally batted it away from Alou's glove, preventing him from making the second out. Alou was furious, and so were the fans. What followed was a nightmarish scenario for the championship star Chicago Cubs. With two strikes, Marlins Hall of Fame catcher Ivan Rodriguez drilled a line drive to left field, scoring a run. Then Cubs shortstop Alex Gonzalez misplayed a routine ground ball that could have turned into a double play to end the inning, but ended up with still only one out and the bases loaded. The Cubs still held a 3-1 lead, but the Marlins now had all the momentum. And power hitter Derek Lee, who was batting a paltry 120 in the series, doubled down the left field line to tie the game at three. All the while, fans began to turn their wrath against Steve Bartman, the 26-year-old diehard Cubs fan who had accidentally interfered with the Alou foul ball earlier in the inning. The Marlins took the lead on a sacrifice fly ball by Jeff Conine to make it a 4-3 game with two outs. They then broke the game open on a bases-clearing double by Mike Mordecai to go up 7-3, and they would score one more time before the Cubs would finally stop the bleeding and record a final out in the inning, Marlins 8, Cubs 3. The Cubs would not score in either of their remaining two chances, and they would drop Game 6 by the same score, forcing a deciding Game 7. In the next 24 hours, Cubs sportswriters and personalities pointed to Bartman as the turning point in the game. Now Bartman, who had to be escorted from Wrigley Field in the moments after that play because the fans were beginning to threaten his safety, received numerous death threats. He issued a heartfelt apology for what happened the following day before the Cubs would square off against the Marlins in Game 7 that night. In the years that have followed, Cubs fans have understandably come under fierce scrutiny for their behavior at Game 6 that night. Bartman has remained a Cubs fan, but was driven into the shadows where, in some ways, he has remained ever since to this day. Now it all could have been made right had the Cubs won Game 7, but again in front of their home crowd, the Cubs blew an early lead and lost Game 7 9-6, and with it the NLCS. The Marlins would go on to win the World Series. Thanks so much for joining me once again for a Moment in History. If you enjoyed this video, remember to like and subscribe. And if you want us to cover one of your favorite moments in history, you can tell us in the comments. Now stay tuned for some new content.