Steve Bartman Gets a Ring

[Sheriff]

Frank Kaminsky must be thrilled about this.

[wadesworld]

That is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard.

[GGGG]

Eh, I have a Cub fan on Facebook saying she's "legit crying" about it.  Fandom isn't rational.

[Vander Blue Man Group]

That is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard.

It's a really nice gesture.  The stuff this dude had to go through was awful and undeserved.

That being said, I hope to never hear his name again. 

[tower912]

Class move by the organization.  Liked his response.

[warriorchick]

Eh, I have a Cub fan on Facebook saying she's "legit crying" about it. Cub Fandom isn't rational.

FIFY

[Tugg Speedman]

Class move by the organization.  Liked his response.

+1

The way cub fans treated this guy is an embarrassment to them.

Glad the organization is trying to make this right.

[Dr. Blackheart]

+1

The way cub fans treated this guy is an embarrassment to them.

Glad the organization is trying to make this right.

I would add the way the players and manager at the time treated him.

[jsglow]

I would add the way the players and manager at the time treated him.

Agree completely.  What the Cubs should have said is that some rando fan had NOTHING to do with their collapse in that fateful game.  They owed him.  Glad current management recognized.

[Vander Blue Man Group]

+1

The way cub fans treated this guy is an embarrassment to them.

Glad the organization is trying to make this right.

I would add the way the players and manager at the time treated him.

It was a portion of the fan base - many didn't blame him for doing something the majority of most people in that situation would have done.

The media made it much, much worse than it needed to be or should have been.  And that carried on through last season. 

Personally,

[jsglow]

I just re-watched the fateful 8th inning.  Correctly remembered that while the Bartman incident was significant, it was more about how the Cubs failed to remain mentally tough following the initial double.  Pitching, defense and Dusty all terribly lacking.

[MU82]

The media made it much, much worse than it needed to be or should have been.  And that carried on through last season. 

Damn media. TV showed the play live and the reaction to, sportswriters reported about what happened, columnists opined about it, etc. I mean, just because it was one of the biggest events in Cubs history ... the damn media should have ignored it. Fake news! Sad!

[Vander Blue Man Group]

Damn media. TV showed the play live and the reaction to, sportswriters reported about what happened, columnists opined about it, etc. I mean, just because it was one of the biggest events in Cubs history ... the damn media should have ignored it. Fake news! Sad!

Going to assume that was sarcasm.  No one said it should have been ignored.   

There's a difference between reporting on what happened and sharing his name immediately. showing up at his parent's house, etc. 

[Vander Blue Man Group]

I just re-watched the fateful 8th inning.  Correctly remembered that while the Bartman incident was significant, it was more about how the Cubs failed to remain mentally tough following the initial double.  Pitching, defense and Dusty all terribly lacking.

Gonzalez booting the easy double-play ball was the key play.  Turn that and you're out of the inning. 

[brewcity77]

Good on the organization, and I don't blame Bartman.

That said, my frustration at the time was that earlier in the series, a fan interfered with a pop foul that should've been caught by Damian Miller. It was a routine play, Miller was similarly pissed, but it amounted to nothing.

All I could think at the time, rational or not, was how anyone could forget the Damian Miller play just a few days later.

Apparently, though, everyone forgot it except me. I've never heard another word about that pop foul, but in Cub fandom Steve Bartman will forever be a household name.

[Skitch]

They should have made Moises Alou deliver it to him.

[jsglow]

The meltdown actually began before the pop foul.  The Cubs pitcher was already wild.  It's interesting in retrospect to see how much discipline was lost in just a few minutes most evident in the SS error.  And Dusty did absolutely nothing about it.  Watching it now, it was easy to see the Walmart tent collapse in that stiff 10 mph breeze.  The Cubs simply weren't ready to win.  Contrast that with their play last year.  Night and day.

[MerrittsMustache]

Good on the organization, and I don't blame Bartman.

That said, my frustration at the time was that earlier in the series, a fan interfered with a pop foul that should've been caught by Damian Miller. It was a routine play, Miller was similarly pissed, but it amounted to nothing.

All I could think at the time, rational or not, was how anyone could forget the Damian Miller play just a few days later.

Apparently, though, everyone forgot it except me. I've never heard another word about that pop foul, but in Cub fandom Steve Bartman will forever be a household name.

That play wasn't in the 8th inning of a potential pennant-clinching game in which the Cubs had a 3-run lead.

[brewcity77]

That play wasn't in the 8th inning of a potential pennant-clinching game in which the Cubs had a 3-run lead.

No, but it was a couple games earlier in the same series. Had parallels, and was why I was thinking "why the hell do you reach for that ball" even before the media blew the whole thing up.

[Jockey]

I would add the way the players and manager at the time treated him.

Easier to blame someone else than themselves. Typical Cubbies.

[Vander Blue Man Group]

Easier to blame someone else than themselves. Typical Cubbies.

 

[Jockey]

Well done VBMG. My post was obvious snark and you gave it the reply it deserved.

[MU82]

Going to assume that was sarcasm.  No one said it should have been ignored.   

There's a difference between reporting on what happened and sharing his name immediately. showing up at his parent's house, etc.

A few TV cameras did what TV types always do. That doesn't mean "the media" went overboard covering a major, major story. We'll have to agree to disagree.

Also, I admit that I'm probably a little touchy on this subject given You Know Who's constant attempts to distract from his own failingskis by always screaming, "Fake News!" All I'll say is thank goodness for the Times and Post these days.

[Benny B]

I wonder if Steve ever got to meet Michael Jackson.

[mu-rara]

Damn media. TV showed the play live and the reaction to, sportswriters reported about what happened, columnists opined about it, etc. I mean, just because it was one of the biggest events in Cubs history ... the damn media should have ignored it. Fake news! Sad!

Nice try. 

Journalists stopped reporting the facts long ago.  They feel the need to spin a narrative in every story.  Reporting the story doesn't win any Pulitzers.  Bartman was A story.  He was not the story, except the media made it so.  The Cubs meltdown after that play should have been the story.  His name should be a footnote.