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The Steve Bartman incident is one of the most searched online. To help you get all of your answers, we are telling you who he is and what happened to him!
You all must know about Stever Bartman, who rose to fame as an infamous Chicago Cubs fan.
He supported Chicago cubs in his entire life and became a national castaway on October 14, 2003.
The famous Steve Bartman incident happened in Wrigley stadium. This incident led the Chicago Cubs fan to lose the National Championship League against the Marlins Florida. They lost the game after reaching closer to lift the trophy in their hand.
This incident happened 17 years back, but still, people remember this and ask various questions regarding Steve Bartman.
Steve Bartman incident
Steve Bartman is the most controversial and hated person for the Chicago Cubs. The man interfered controversially on the foul ball. Marlins Batter Luis Castillo hit that ball in the NCL’s 8th innings.
The outfielder of the Cubs chased the ball and jumped on the ground inside the fence, but in the middle of that game. However, Steve Bartman deflected the ball. He made a disrupting situation that failed to grab the ball or catch it!
After the incident happened, the Cubs fans and Alou were all stunned. Everyone was furious about why he did this and did he perform intentionally? Let’s check!
Steve Bartman catching hell
People who didn’t know about that incident and missed the visuals are still looking for that! Are you also on the list?
So, at that time, The Chicago Cubs were in 3-0 at the 8th innings. They were just near to reaching the World Series after 1945 for the first time.
If you look back, the Cubs had not been in baseball’s championship after 1908.
Bartman was there inside the stadium and sitting in the front seat. So, when a foul ball was coming to his side, the famous left fielder of Cubs at that time attempted to catch the ball and jumped to the wall to reach there.
At the same time event, many more fans of the Cubs tried to catch. However, Alou failed to catch that ball because Bartman deflected the ball with his hand.
In return, Alou threw his glove in frustration and shouted to the fans in the first row. He also argued why fan interference was in the middle of the match, but the umpire said there was no interference.
According to him, the ball had already gone from the boundary. Even the Cubs manager failed to check this view because of the blockage. Therefore, the situation and the statements have been scrutinized over the years!
What happened at the stadium?
Just after that incident, the cameras of FOX repeatedly shot him. The channels and media show multiple replays of that scene so many times. People knew him and remembered him as a person who wore a green shirt, glasses, baseball cap, and headset!
Bartman was recognized by so many people present inside the field, but the family members and friends watching TV in their home called them and started sharing his appearance and look seat. After they lost the match, many cubs fans began pointing at him and started bashing him!
The fans present at the stadium started calling slurs at him! Some were thrown the bottles on him too. In the end, he led away from the place with the help of an escort’s guard! Many clubs fan shouted and threatened him. Finally, with the help of the security team, he was safely out from that place through the tunnel.
Police protection
In some footage, he was also surrounded by a team of securities. After this, his name, personal information are out to the outboards within a few minutes. Many police vans gathered at his home to protect his family. Even the governor of Florida also offered him to live in an asylum. He never thought that this would happen at some point in his life. The incident changed his life.
He stated that he never did this intentionally, and it was just the emotion that picked out. In fear of people, he was not caught by giving any interviews. He was asked to be a part of many advertisements, interviews, endorsements, and public appearances. However, he refused to be a part of them.
He declined so many opportunities in his life after that where he could earn in dollars! He denied making an appearance on ESPN for the documentary too. Some people also started connecting with the black cat too. He was mentally depressed at that time for what he didn’t do.
Many memes were circulating through social media where the story leaked that the Cubs were in the first stage. But suddenly, the black cat appeared, and they lost the game. Some people also referred to him as the cursed!
Did he intervene intentionally?
No doubt fans are a huge part of any game, and without them, a game is nothing. But there are so many examples of how they became one of the most hated personalities. Even today, you will find Steve Bartman memes all over the internet!
Fan sometimes get too close to the games, and it turns out to be sensational stories when they start to the interface!
The same situation has happened with Steve Bartman. The incident was referred to as one of the most notorious cases of 2003.
The Cubs lost the game against Florida and faced elimination as per the fans! But is this true? Did he try to catch the ball intentionally?
The reality is completely different because he never did that intentionally. He did that as a fan of cubs, but he hid for years after that situation. Eventually, this incident made him an unloved personality. But after many years, in 2016, the Chicago Cubs awarded the World Series ring.
Mix reactions from Chicago supporters
If you continuously watched that video 2 to 3 times, you would notice that he hadn’t interfered even though some other fans also tried to catch the ball. So, he didn’t like the only one going for the ball in the crowd!
Some people also stated that they never understood why some people were mad at him because the ball just hit his hands, and it’s the instant reaction of a fan! This was never his fault.
Some people also said that it was the fault of the Cubs because they were not going to win that match, and they only showed their grudges on him, which was wrong!
Some people said this happened because of the reaction of Alou. If he didn’t react that way, then everything may be fine!
Because of him, Bartman came on everyone’s hit list!
Where is Steve Bartman now?
Many fans in the stadium threatened him after that incident. One of the fans threw a beer mug on his head too. He received so many threats from the social media channels and became the villain of the match.
Cubs were leading 3-0, but they ended up the match after that incident. If Alou caught that ball, they would have had better rankings. But, instead, the news channels and the cameras of the stadium focused on the face of Bartman that turned him into a bad person within a night!
After that incident, he faced so many hurdles, and that’s why he decided to hide in a secret place! He went through many nasty and disrespectful things. Even some fan pelted unused items and debris on him. Finally, he needed an escort to be out from the stadium.
But the next day, the team lost again and ended up with 4-3. He went through harassment, and people started criticizing him personally and socially.
In the middle of that, he apologized many times because of his action at the stadium. He said he wanted to go back to his normal life, but he decided to hide due to the death threats and hate!
Steve Bartman ring 2016
In 2016, the Cubs from Chicago ended with a victory, and the organization issued a message to Bartman to gift him a ring! The organization stated this to end up the chapter of 2003.
They want to bring closeness, but soon, Steve said he doesn’t crave this. He said he was happy to reunite with his family once more!
According to the reports, no one knows where he is now, but he still lives in Chicago.
Just after the incident, his name appeared on the digital media and received so many threats. By considering these things, his family later asked for police protection. This incident took all the cameras of that time. Considering that popularity, ESPN has started a Steve Bartman documentary of 100 minutes in 2011.
Steve Bartman was harassed by the abuse and decided not to move out from the place and appear in front of the people! Cubs’ players and management team often gave their statement that they said that the man did not make any mistake.
He was later honored by the Championship ring on behalf of the whole Chicago Cubs organization to end the entire scenario of 2003. According to the management, that was an unfortunate chapter of the story.
Acceptance of the ring
Well, the gesture of the public regarding Steve was bad, and he sacrificed his major years because of this incident! The entire channels and social media exploited Steve.
That incident haunted him, and after 14 years, he stated that “I received the ring as the humble gesture, but we should remind how the society is treating each other” As per his statement,” We all should learn how to respect each other’s privacy and achievements.”
According to him, sports are entertainment, and we should all take this as a source of entertainment. No one has the right to make personal grudges to anyone who did nothing. He also said that the media should learn a few things and privacy rights.
Steve Bartman foul ball auction
Do you want to know what happened with that ball and seat after that incident? The ball was auctioned and money was donated. Currently, the ball is a part of the Sports Museum of Chicago.
After that incident, many people checked the seat where he sat. Thus, seat number 113 of Row 8 Aisle 4 became the attraction spot for the visitor.
But when the stadium was reconstructed, the seat numbers changed. Currently, it is mentioned as Row12, seat 1.
Where is Steve Bartman today?
If we talk about the current condition, now he is living in Chicago as per the resources. By learning the overall article, you have understood how tough it was for him to deal with this pressure. He faced mental and physical pressure some years back, but now he is alright and hopefully spending his life happily!
