10 Years Ago Today ...

[Tugg Speedman]

Bartman!!!

MORRISSEY: Cubs changed forever by Game 6 in 2003

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/23098466-419/morrissey-cubs-changed-forever-by-game-6-in-2003.html

It has been 10 years since the sky fell on the Cubs. If you think that’s overstating things, then you weren’t at Wrigley Field the night everything fell apart.

That was the night the Cubs were five outs away from going to the World Series. It was the night they found out how far away they really were.

 What happened on Oct. 14, 2003, encapsulated everything about the afflicted franchise and set it on a course that led to where it is today, rebuilding its way out of a quarry. It’s fair to say the Cubs are as far from their first World Series title since 1908 as they have ever been.

But it also was the night that led to unprecedented interest in the Cubs. The next season, they drew 3 million fans for the first time in team history, beginning a string of eight consecutive seasons in which they went over that mark.

They had gotten so close in 2003 that what previously had been a happier existence in Wrigleyville gave way to fan restlessness, anger and expectation. It’s why the Cubs would spend a ridiculous $136 million on Alfonso Soriano in late 2006. It’s why they neglected the farm system for so long in favor of acquiring veterans. Fans had had a taste and wanted more. The franchise was desperate to feed them.

What stood out that night was how red the ivy was on the outfield walls — who gets to see Wrigley in October? — and how heavy the gloom was when shortstop Alex Gonzalez mishandled a ground ball that could have gotten the Cubs out of the eighth inning. Remember, the Cubs were leading the Florida Marlins 3-1 in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series at that time. Did we mention they were five outs from the World Series? They were five outs from the World Series.

But the atmosphere said otherwise. The atmosphere, stoked by 95 years of futility, said calamity was right around the corner. You could feel it in the old ballpark. It had its own gravity.

The Marlins scored eight runs in the inning, won the game, won Game 7 and went on to win the World Series. How’s that for a declarative sentence?

The Ricketts family bought the team in 2009, slashed the budget and tore apart the big-league product with the idea of starting over, beginning at the minor-league level. And here the Cubs are today, dead to the world.

They won six postseason games in 2003, which was twice as many as they had won since their last World Series appearance in 1945.

It wasn’t enough. Not even close.

[TallTitan34]

Alex Gonzalez and Dusty Baker should be the ones talked about. Not Steve Bartman.

[WI inferiority Complexes]

Alex Gonzalez and Dusty Baker should be the ones talked about. Not Steve Bartman.

I don't think I've ever heard someone mention Game 6 of the '03 NLCS and not mention Alex Gonzalez.

For example, Bartman is not mentioned at all in the article posted, yet Alex Gonzalez is.

[Lennys Tap]

I don't think I've ever heard someone mention Game 6 of the '03 NLCS and not mention Alex Gonzalez.

For example, Bartman is not mentioned at all in the article posted, yet Alex Gonzalez is.

I never heard that game referred to as "The Alex Gonzalez Game" (or the Mark Prior or Dusty Baker game).  It's the "Bartman Game".

[MerrittsMustache]

I never heard that game referred to as "The Alex Gonzalez Game" (or the Mark Prior or Dusty Baker game).  It's the "Bartman Game".

Many media members, writers and film makers are trying to make money by keeping that myth alive.

Did Cubs fans act in a disgraceful manner on that night? Most definitely.

Are there any true blue Cubs fans, or even baseball fans for that matter, who sincerely believe that Bartman cost the team the pennant? Not that I know of.

[keefe]

Cubs fans are hardly the only ones suffering. Try watching the Mariners...

[NavinRJohnson]

I thought this captured what it really was pretty well...

http://deadspin.com/5530141/excerpt-from-are-we-winning-a-prayer-for-steve-bartman/1444866762/@barryap

This part in particular stood out for me, as I still recall that i found the atmosphere in, and especially around Wrigley at that time to be rather toxic even before the whole Bartman/Alou thing ever happened...


It breaks your heart. It breaks my heart. Because that was me. That was you. That was all of us. Forget about reaching for the ball: Anyone would have done that. No, Steve Bartman is a man who, within seconds of one of the most famous plays in baseball history, a play that directly involved him, straightened up his headphones, dusted himself off and sat back down in his seat to watch the game. The other guys, the ones there for the party, to scream and boo and drink and pick up girls, they're not concerned with the game anymore. They're focused on him, on noise, on sideshow … they're not focused on the game. Why couldn't have one of them touched the ball? They wouldn't have cared: They'd have loved the publicity, I bet.

Not Bartman. He's here for baseball. If the Cubs had acted like Steve Bartman, had they put it behind them and concentrated on the task at hand, they might have won that World Series. They should have followed Bartman's lead. Everyone should have.

[Lennys Tap]

Many media members, writers and film makers are trying to make money by keeping that myth alive.

Did Cubs fans act in a disgraceful manner on that night? Most definitely.

Are there any true blue Cubs fans, or even baseball fans for that matter, who sincerely believe that Bartman cost the team the pennant? Not that I know of.

"That night?" Your kidding, right? The guy was literally in hiding for weeks. Moises Alou and Dusty Baker contributed to the hysteria. Maybe in retrospect the fans have seen the light, but in the moment and for quite awhile afterwards the hatred was palpable and scary.

[MerrittsMustache]

"That night?" Your kidding, right? The guy was literally in hiding for weeks. Moises Alou and Dusty Baker contributed to the hysteria. Maybe in retrospect the fans have seen the light, but in the moment and for quite awhile afterwards the hatred was palpable and scary.

As someone who lived in Wrigleyville at the time, I can tell you that an overwhelming majority of fans had a great deal of sympathy for Bartman within 24 hours. It was the loud minority of crazies who made things seem much worse than they truly were and the media built that up because it's a better story that way. That said, that loud minority of crazies was enough to keep Bartman hiding and I don't blame him.

Bartman is as die-hard a Cub fan as you can find. It's really, truly a shame. Hopefully, he's sitting on a beach somewhere this week and ignoring sportstalk. Although, he's probably not because he's afraid that he'll miss the announcement of the Cubs' next manager.

[Lennys Tap]

As someone who lived in Wrigleyville at the time, I can tell you that an overwhelming majority of fans had a great deal of sympathy for Bartman within 24 hours. It was the loud minority of crazies who made things seem much worse than they truly were and the media built that up because it's a better story that way. That said, that loud minority of crazies was enough to keep Bartman hiding and I don't blame him.

Bartman is as die-hard a Cub fan as you can find. It's really, truly a shame. Hopefully, he's sitting on a beach somewhere this week and ignoring sportstalk. Although, he's probably not because he's afraid that he'll miss the announcement of the Cubs' next manager.

I agree that once cooler heads prevailed most Cub fans ceased to blame Bartman. Also agree that over the long haul he's become a sympathetic figure. In the moment, though, it was ugly and dangerous for Steve, and not just from a few crazies.

[Benny B]

I agree that once cooler heads prevailed most Cub fans ceased to blame Bartman. Also agree that over the long haul he's become a sympathetic figure. In the moment, though, it was ugly and dangerous for Steve, and not just from a few crazies.

"Crazies" is probably the most euphemistic way to describe these morons.
http://youtu.be/JKO4lipUg1k