Posted by
Ed Lilly on Thursday, July 24, 2008 9:41:11 PM
If the name Steve Bartman sounds only vaguely familiar to, you must not be a Cubs fan. Let's go back to the fall of 2003, Game 6 of the NLCS, when the Cubs were a mere five outs from a trip to the World Series. Mark Prior, at the time one of the Cubs' great young starters, was on the mound and his club had staked him to a 3-0 lead.
Then, as with all things Cubs, it all went downhill. The most famous and memorable incident of the meltdown was the foul ball down the left field line that landed just in the seats. Moises Alou, the Cubs left fielder, was in position to try to make a play on the ball, leaping up over the wall to reach into the first row to try to make the catch. But instead of coming away with the ball, Alou collided with Steve Bartman, an unfortunate Cubs fan who made a terrible mistake in trying to catch the ball himself rather than get out of Alou's way.
So the Cubs didn't get an out on that play, and of course they wound up losing that game, and then the NL Championship Series in Game 7. And Steve Bartman's life would never be the same.
To his credit. Bartman has not changed his name to try to get away from this unfortunate incident. He did not move away from the Chicago area to try to start over. And now, he has
turned down an offer of $25,000 to sign a photograph of the infamous Alou play from Game 6.
It's rare in today's world that someone doesn't try to cash in on whatever type of fame they may have. Bartman could have probably done local ads that played off the incident. He probably could write a book about his experience after Game 6. And it's hardly surprising that some sports memorabilia dealer would try to get him to sign a photo of the play to make a few bucks.
But Bartman has refused to profit from his trip to the spotlight. Good for him for continuing to be a regular human being and die-hard Cubs fan. Should the unthinkable happen in my lifetime, I hope Bartman is also around to appreciate it.