Posted on 10/26/2003 2:31:54 AM PST by JustPiper
CHICAGO — Steve Bartman surfaced briefly yesterday to say he and his family and friends have been threatened and harassed by some, but received empathy and support from many others since he became the center of controversy by tipping a foul ball at an unfortunate moment during Game 6 of the National League Championship Series.
Bartman, a Cubs fan, issued what he termed his "final comment" on the subject. He said he was declining interview requests and would donate to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation all the "generous gift offers" he has received "from individuals and businesses across the country."
He urged others wishing to make similar donations to follow his lead and do so in the name of Ron Santo, the Cubs' broadcaster and former star third baseman who is afflicted with diabetes and is a spokesman for the foundation.
Santo, a Franklin High School graduate, appreciated Bartman's effort. He said the 26-year-old fan had become a "scapegoat" for the Cubs blowing a three-run lead in the eighth inning of Game 6, when the Florida Marlins rallied for eight runs and an 8-3 victory. They also won Game 7, denying the Cubs their first World Series appearance in 58 years.
Bartman became an object of scorn and parody after he reached for a foul ball in the eighth inning that Cubs left fielder Moises Alou might have been able to catch for the second out of the inning.
"I felt very bad for him," Santo said of Bartman. "He was not the reason we lost the game. Fans get excited when a baseball comes their way. It's a natural reaction. I was moved when he apologized to the Cubs and to me."
Jeannie Ullman of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation said she was told gifts offered to Bartman thus far included vacation packages "such as hotels, cars and restaurants, all in Florida." She said they would be part of an auction at a Dec. 13 fund-raiser for the JDR Foundation at McCormick Place.
In his statement released yesterday, Bartman said, "I look forward to, and expect to return to my normal life activities, including cheering our beloved Cubs toward many more exciting postseasons of play."
That being said, there is no doubt that Florida has a great team as shown by their dispatch of the Yankees with greater ease than their win over the Cubs. Unfortunately, their trip to the series will be tainted by giving Florida five outs in that fateful 8th inning of game 6.
To be blunt, I do not particularly blame Bartman. The video shows that, at that instant, just about every guy in that front row (I didn't see any women there) and some in the second and third rows had jumped to the their feet and were reaching out for that pop ball ... in fact, nearly all those other guys had baseball gloves on and Bartman was barehanded. If Bartman had stayed in his seat with his hands in his lap, one of twenty other guys - who had brought their mits to the game for that reason - would have accomplished the same thing.
Several knowledgeable people have blamed the umpire, because the baseball rules explicitly require a do-over in the case of fan interference. But either way, what might have been the third out and end of the game was taken away.
Please stand corrected about the out situation.
Bartman did not lose the game the Cubs did. What if that foul ball were one foot further into the stands and everything else still happened the same way?
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