'Catching Hell': 17 years later Cubs fans' still have sympathy for Steve Bartman and THAT deflection
As ESPN aired the 'Catching Hell' documentary, baseball fans couldn't help but feel sorry for Steve Bartman. Filmmaker Alex Gibney revisited the infamous 2003 game, which made Bartman, an ardent Chicago Cubs fan, a villain among his fellow Cubs followers. When Bartman decided to watch the Chicago Cubs vs Florida Marlins match at the stadium, little did he know it would change his life forever. The Cubs were leading the game with 3-0. Since they hadn't won a game in the past few seasons, fans had very high hopes from the team.
During the eighth inning of Game 6, the Marlins were at the bat and one of their players was already out. Luis Castillo of the Marlins hit a foul ball to the left-field corner wall. It was deflected by Steve Bartman before Cubs left fielder Moises Alou could make the catch. The Cubs eventually lost the game and the fans at the stadium were furious with Bartman. They threw food and trash at him and he had to be escorted out of the stadium by the police for his safety. For several years, fans blamed Bartman for the Cubs' loss, despite Cubs players explicitly stating that they lost the game due to their performance and not Bartman.
Viewers felt a pang of remorse on seeing the way Bartman was treated after watching the documentary and took to social media to express the same. A viewer tweeted, "Watching the Steve Bartman documentary on ESPN and it’s really one of the saddest sports stories you’ll ever see. I feel so bad for the guy." Another wrote, "Steve Bartman was treated so awful by some people, and it’s embarrassing for me as a Cub fan to look back at how awful it got. We know it wasn't his fault. He deserved none of that and there was no excuse for the grief he got. Sports make people do crazy things sometimes man."
"I was at the Bartman game, Cubbies vs Marlins. One of the most memorable nights of my life, for the wrong reason, have a picture on wall. I feel bad for that Steve Bartman, seemed like a fine young man, who did what any human fan would’ve done. He didn’t cause them to lose, Cubs lost," expressed another viewer.