WANTED: APB out in Chicago!

If he showed up for work this morning, he's already been fired!


The Cubs fan (front center) who tried to catch a foul ball hit by Florida Marlins Luis Castillo sits in the stands in the eighth inning of Game 6 of the National League Championship Series in Chicago, October 14, 2003. The ball would have been the Cubs second out of the inning and the Marlins went on to score 8 runs in the inning. The Marlins defeated the Cubs 8-3 to even the series at three games apiece. REUTERS/Allen Fredrickson

Pop-foul fan draws hostility —and sympathy
Escorted away for protection
By Chris Malcolm and Melissa Isaacson, Chicago Tribune staff reporters

Last seen, the fan who tried to catch the ball was wearing a jacket on his head and being led into the underbelly of Wrigley Field for his own protection.

He may forever be referred to as "that fan" or any number of other names after he reached for a pop foul that Cubs left fielder Moises Alou was about to catch for the second out in the eighth inning of Game 6 of the National League Championship Series, with the Cubs leading 3-0 and five outs away from the World Series.

But the ball struck the fan's hand and bounced free, opening the door to an eight-run Marlins rally and an eventual Cubs loss.

Within moments, the fans down the left-field line began booing and chanting, "Get him out." The object of their scorn still sat in his front-row seat, wearing headphones and a Cubs cap, as the Marlins began to pile up runs.

"It cost us the game, pal," shouted one fan. Another fan tossed a beer cup toward the man's seat, but it fell short.

Three security guards ejected one fan after throwing beer. "I hope you're happy," the man screamed. "You cost us a [expletive] World Series."

Another fan yelled, "You could tell we're better than Boston or he'd be dead already."

Within a few minutes, Cubs security closed access to the lower levels of the stands and kept reporters out of the area. Moments later, another fan who said his name was Jim Cuthbert was escorted shouting from the area. Cuthbert said ushers took him out of the park because had gone to confront the fan who had touched the ball and refused to return to his seat.

"I said, 'What the hell is wrong with you?'" said Cuthbert, who added he caught the man's eye and challenged him to come outside. Cuthbert said the man wouldn't answer.

Cuthbert said he wanted to know why he had been kicked out while the fan who touched the ball was allowed to remain.

"The [usher] said, 'Sir, take your seat,' and I said, 'I ain't taking my seat. Why is he still sitting there?' So then they said, 'Get out of here.'"

Pat Looney, 34, was was seated nearby and was in a more forgiving mood. "Hey, it looked like it was out of play," Looney said in an interview after the game. "I don't blame the guy. He was looking up at the ball, not down on the field."

Looney said nobody in that part of the stands saw Alou coming, especially the fan in Seat 11, Row 9.

"If I had seen Alou coming, I would have pushed [the other fan] out of the way," Looney said.

Looney, who said he was a Chicago firefighter, said he already received numerous calls on his cell phone from friends and co-workers watching TV. "I said, 'I didn't touch it.'" Looney said.

At the end of the eighth, team security escorted the fan away from the stands. Officials said he had asked to stay at the stadium until it cleared before he made his way home. A man who was with him was taken out of Wrigley and hastily put into a taxi.

"We're not giving away any names," said a Wrigley Field official. "We're protecting our patrons."

Some fans were actually sympathetic. "Ninety-nine percent of these fans would have done the same thing," said one spectator as the insults rained down. "They're all hypocrites."

The incident recalled memories of Jeffrey Maier, a 12-year-old Yankees fan, who reached into the field of play over Baltimore right fielder Tony Tarasco in Game 1 of the 1996 American League Championship Series, to catch a ball hit by the Yankees' Derek Jeter.

The ball was ultimately ruled to be a game-tying home run, and the Yankees went on to win.

 

coward didnt show up

Man in stands described as diehard fan
October 15, 2003

BY ANNIE SWEENEY, FRANK MAIN AND CHRIS FUSCO
Chicago Sun-Times



The man some fans blame for Tuesday night's Cubs loss because he reached out and touched a foul ball that Moises Alou was trying to catch is a diehard Cubs fan who coaches youth baseball in the north suburbs.


Steve Bartman, 26, works at Hewitt Associates, an international consulting firm in Lincolnshire.

"He is an associate at Hewitt, and he is not coming to work today because of the incident," Suzanne Zagata-Meraz, a spokeswoman for Hewitt, said this morning. "That was a decision that Steve and [Human Resources] made together. We have been in contact with Steve."


A man who answered the door at the Northbrook home where friends and a neighbor said Bartman grew up defended him, saying he only did what came naturally when a foul ball came his way.


"He's a huge Cubs fan," said the man, who responded to "Mr. Bartman." "I'm sure I taught him well. I taught him to catch foul balls when they come near him."


He declined to say any more and would not confirm what relation he is to Steve Bartman.


A neighbor, Ron Cohen, said he has known the Bartman family for 20 years. He and others said Bartman was a graduate of the University of Notre Dame who played for and is now a coach for the Renegades, an elite youth baseball club in Niles.


Cohen said he saw Bartman on Sunday and that Bartman told him then that he had tickets to Tuesday's game.


"He felt great he got tickets to the game," said Cohen, 63.


Cohen was watching the game on TV with his son, who grew up with "Stevie," when they recognized the man in the Renegades shirt.


"I really was just surprised," said Cohen, who called Bartman's mother. "I think it's just a natural tendency. Everybody reaches. I'm not trying to defend him, but I think it's just a natural tendency. He may not have seen Alou coming."


He described Bartman as a baseball fanatic.


"He's a good kid, a wonderful son, never in any trouble," Cohen told a Sun-Times reporter. "I don't think he should be blamed at all. People reach for balls. This just happened to be a little more critical. If Florida didn't score all the runs, you wouldn't be standing here."


A parent whose son played baseball for the Renegades last year echoed Cohen's description of Bartman.


"He was a fine guy. He was a good baseball coach to my son," said Roger Shimanovsky, 41. "Believe me, I'm sure nobody feels worse about this than him."


Bartman is listed as a coach of the Renegades' 13-year-old team this year, according to the organization's Web site.


He also was a player on a 1992 Renegades team that finished with 47 wins and 10 losses. The team was the Palatine League champion and the Pekin Fourth of July tournament champion.


The home where Bartman grew up backs up to a baseball field where his dad would hit pop-ups for him and his friends to catch, said Ron Cohen's son, Gary Cohen, 34. He said Bartman's favorite player growing up was Cubs second baseman Ryne Sandberg.

 

that is just plain horrible. i've been hearing all day about the sun times printing his name and place of work in the paper today. what fuckin morons. of course, isn't jay mariotti from the sun times? that explains alot. what total jackasses.

 

I would so be suing the Sun Times.

 

theres no way you're only 26 years old....liar.

 

That also is not me, but IF it was me, I would so be suing the Sun Times.

 

there was a picture in the NY Post today and i counted at least 4 other people reaching for that ball. this guy is taking the heat for a meltdown that happened on the field. an error by a sure handed shortstop kept the inning going as much if not more than this incident.

 

folks, look....

this guy is taking the heat, and at the same time, becoming a part of chicago sports lore. i know he thinks it sucks right now, but if (and at the time im writing this, the cubs lead florida 5-3 in the 3rd), the cubs win, he'll be forgotten. if they lose, he goes up there with the goat, the black cat, leon durham and more. cubs fans won't blame the team for melting down--their precious lil cubbies do no wrong. should gonzo have turned the DP? YES,. but because geek in row one messed up alou's shot at out number 2, IT'S GOING TO ALWAYS BE HIS FAULT!!! Now of course, that isn't right or fair, but in chicago, thats the way it will be.

 

Whoever is in charge of that story needs to be fired! That is another reason to hope and pray that the Cubs win! I just hope those police guards will continue guarding him with their lives until all the heat cools down!

 

I would be too VP.