TONY ANDRACKI
I had MLB Network on in the background today in the CSN Chicago office and the intro for their series on the MLB's 20 Greatest Games was playing.
I wasn't really paying attention...until I heard Mark Prior's name. Before I could turn around, I started hearing more names like Sammy Sosa and Alex Gonzalez.
Yes, it was a replay of Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS. Ouch.
I don't need to get into the entire game. If you're a Cubs fan and you were alive in '03, you know the events that transpired. Sure, maybe you've repressed them and hoped never to have to re-live those moments again, but you still know what's up.
What I did want to address was Steve Bartman.
Why are there some Cubs fans out there that still blame him?
Take a look at the play again to refresh your memory:
There are numerous fans going for the ball. It's not just Bartman. That dude in the gray jacket left his seat a row or two up and came dangerously close -- we're talking maybe centimeters -- from hitting the ball instead of Bartman.
It's not like he was reaching that far over the field of play. The ball looks like it would have hit off the cement or railing.
And it's not like Alou was some defensive whiz. Who knows if he would have even held on to the ball when he came down with it?
Plus, that's just one play, one out. He didn't make Dusty Baker leave Prior in way, way, way too long. Bartman didn't cause the normally sure-handed Alex Gonzalez to commit an error. He wasn't the cause of the total team implosion.
And keep in mind, even if Bartman's play was the sole reason the Cubs lost Game 6: There was still a Game 7! The Cubs still could have come back and won then, too!
Why is this guy getting all the blame?
Look at that video. Don't you feel sorry for the guy? I watch that video and feel just like I do when watching a three-legged dog try to run. (I'm not comparing Bartman to a three-legged dog, just merely saying the same kind of pity goes out to each.)
Hopefully Theo is true to his word and welcomes Bartman back to Wrigley sometime in the near future.
This season will be the ninth since Bartman's infamous moment. Fans will never forget. But it's time to forgive.
It was not his fault.
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