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Posted on 10/17/2003 6:15:00 PM PDT by Sabertooth
In Game 6 of the 2003 National League Championship Series between the Florida Marlins and the Chicago Cubs Wednesday night, five outs Marlins second baseman Luis Castillo stood in against right-hander Mark Prior of the Cubs, who’d been painting a three-hit shutout until that point. With one out, a 3-2 count, and the Marlins speedy Juan Pierre on second with a double, the switch-hitting Castillo sliced a Prior pitch down the left field foul line. As the pop-up tailed for the grandstands. Cubs leftfielder Moises Alou circled under it, braced his right hand against the wall of the Wrigley Field grandstands, leaped with glove outstretched and…
“Uh-oh” is right.
Before the pitch, Chicago was five outs away from clinching their first National League Pennant and World Series visit since 1945. Alou appeared poised to pull down Castillo’s foul pop-up, bringing the hard-luck Cubs one out closer to an opportunity to win their first World Championship since 1908. The valiant futility of Cub Hall of Famers of the 1960s, Ernie Banks, Billy Williams, and Ferguson Jenkins, as well as should-be HOFer Ron Santo, and the infamous 1969 collapse to the Miracle Mets was about to be cathartically washed away. The lost 1984 NL Championship that skittered between Leon Durham’s legs in Tony Gwynn’s San Diego, and the lost 1989 NLCS to Will Clark’s San Francisco Giants were about to become final punctuation marks to the era of the “Lovable Losers.”
Then Destiny, or Infamy, reached out a hand or two and reminded the Cubbies of their place.
Steve Bartman, a lifelong Cubs fan, lost in the moment, lurched from his front row seat at Castillo’s foul ball, plucking it from its flight into Moises Alou’s glove, and himself from yesterday’s obscurity. Alou fell back to the ground and the ball bobbled into the grandstands.
Alou immediately protested that there had been fan interference. When fan interference is called, the batter is automatically out. However, left field Umpire Mike Everitt ruled that there had been no interference, keeping Castillo alive at the plate. Castillo walked on the next pitch, and the rattled Cubs proceeded to give up 8 runs to the reawakened Marlins, losing Game Six and eventually the League Championship Series.
Instead of shaking the 1945 “Curse of the Goat,” and getting a long-sought chance to exorcise the 1908 “Curse of Merkle’s Boner,” the 2003 Cubs and Steve Bartman joined the long list of losing efforts in the Windy City.
But did Everitt make the right call? What’s the rule on fan interference?
3.16
When there is spectator interference with any thrown or batted ball, the ball shall be dead at the moment of interference and the umpire shall impose such penalties as in his opinion will nullify the act of interference. APPROVED RULING: If spectator interference clearly prevents a fielder from catching a fly ball, the umpire shall declare the batter out. There is a difference between a ball which has been thrown or batted into the stands, touching a spectator thereby being out of play even though it rebounds onto the field and a spectator going onto the field or reaching over, under or through a barrier and touching a ball in play or touching or otherwise interfering with a player. In the latter case it is clearly intentional and shall be dealt with as intentional interference as in Rule 3.15. Batter and runners shall be placed where in the umpire's judgment they would have been had the interference not occurred. No interference shall be allowed when a fielder reaches over a fence, railing, rope or into a stand to catch a ball. He does so at his own risk. However, should a spectator reach out on the playing field side of such fence, railing or rope, and plainly prevent the fielder from catching the ball, then the batsman should be called out for the spectator's interference. Example: Runner on third base, one out and a batter hits a fly ball deep to the outfield (fair or foul). Spectator clearly interferes with the outfielder attempting to catch the fly ball. Umpire calls the batter out for spectator interference. Ball is dead at the time of the call. Umpire decides that because of the distance the ball was hit, the runner on third base would have scored after the catch if the fielder had caught the ball which was interfered with, therefore, the runner is permitted to score. This might not be the case if such fly ball was interfered with a short distance from home plate.
LINK
Here are a couple of pics of the moment, when Alou is about to catch Castillo’s fly, and Bartman touches the ball…
1.
2. Bartman has just touched the ball, and it has bobbled slightly upward and toward him. Bartman’s left forearm is in contact with Moises Alou’s glove. So Bartman has interfered both with the flight of the ball, and with the fielder attempting to catch the ball. If Luis Castillo’s pop foul is still in the field of play, this would be fan interference, based on the clear language of Rule 3.16.
This picture is taken slightly after #1, as can be seen by the further closing and turning of Alou’s glove, as well as by the right hand of the man in the gray sweatshirt, which has moved down toward the railing. The ball is bouncing back and slightly up from Bartman’s hand, toward the grandstands.
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3.
4. This pic is a split second earlier than the pics above.
Bartman is lunging forward, past the man with the backward baseball cap. Alou's right arm is braced against the wall, in the field of play, and his outstretched left arm is curving slightly over his head and right shoulder, both of which are in the filed of play. Therefore, Alou’s glove was in the field of play. Alou's glove is open, and Bartman’s hands are between his glove and the ball, which can be partially seen just above and behind Batman’s right hand, touching the ball. This is the moment when Bartman made contact with the ball.
.This picture identical to the pic at #1, but uncropped. Bartman’s left hip is inches from the concrete wall, he's leaning forward, and his arms are outstretched. The wall is about 6" to 8" thick. If an average sized man leans forward over a wall that comes to below his waist, his upper arms will be above the wall, and his forearms will stretch out beyond it. The ball is now bouncing up and back from Bartman’s hands, toward the stands.
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5.
6. Bartman is turning away from the field toward the stands, flowing the path of the bobbled ball, the edge of which can be seen dropping into view from behind his left elbow.
Bartman continues to turn and the ball is now clearly seen dropping below his left elbow into the front row of the stands.
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It’s clear enough from the pictures above that Steve Bartman interfered with Luis Castillo’s pop foul while it was in the field of play, and that Castillo should have been called out on either one of two counts of fan interference. This would have been the second out of the inning, changing the complexion of Game 6 completely. The Marlins might still have pulled it out, but not in the manner that they did, if Umpire Mike Everitt had made the correct call.
Still, it would be nice to have a more conclusive photograph, where the angles is more clear.
Well, we do…
7.
This picture is taken looking down the length of the grandstand wall, which can be seen against Moises Alou’s right shoulder. Alou’s left arm is seen curving over his head as described above at #3, still in the field of play.
This picture is taken simultaneously with #3,when Steve Bartman made contact with Luis Castillo’s foul ball, as can be seen by the position of the man in the grey sweatshirt’s arms, as well as by the position of Alou’s open glove. The ball is obscured from the camera in this pic, as it is behind Bartman’s outstretched hands, which are clearly reaching over the wall and into the field of play to make contact, thereby interfering with the play, according to Baseball Rule 3.16.
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There is now no question that Umpire Mike Everitt blew the fan interference call against Steve Bartman on two counts: contact with the ball and contact with Moises Alou’s glove, within the field of play.
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*”Gotta See This” has been used at the suggestion of Diogenesis, and any republication or rebroadcast without the express,
written consent of Diogenesis is strictly prohibited.
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I feel sorry for the guy: he's got to move out of his home town and he's got to live with this his whole life.
In any case, what does this prove? Even if the ump blew the call, how do you explain the collapse of the Cubs after a blown call?
And Kerry Woods' complete "el foldo" in Game Seven?
Over-analyzing a single event is pointless.
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We wuz robbed. Yet again.
The curse lives.
Just damn.
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It was not in the field of play. In any case, what does this prove? Even if the ump blew the call, how do you explain the collapse of the Cubs after a blown call?
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You're exactly right!
Alous glove was open and waiting. In fan territory.
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