Most controversial scandals in MLB history: #25. Steve Bartman ruins the momentum
It was both an innocent and routine play, one that happens quite literally in every ballpark during every game. Things are fairly simple on the baseball diamond, while fans enjoy watching the game, if, given the opportunity, they’ll make their presence known. On most occasions, it isn’t much of a problem, however on October 14th, 2003 at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois, everything changed.
With the Chicago Cubs taking on the Florida Marlins, the home team enjoyed a 3-0 lead in the eighth inning. Both the win and a trip to the World Series seemed inevitable. The Cubs led 3-2 in the series and we’re only one and a half inning’s away from locking things up. One player for the Marlins already failed to produce a run. As the second batter in Luis Castillo knocked the ball in foul territory, long time Cubs fan, Steve Bartman reached out and made a play for the ball. The only problem with that scenario was that so did Cubs outfielder Moises Alou. He appeared to have a clear play on the ball but the outstretched hand of Bartman knocked it away.
As a result, both Castillo and the Marlins began lighting up the scoreboard, scoring eight in the inning. The Cubs would ultimately fall in Game 7 and Bartman would become the most hated man in Chicago for roughly a decade and a half.
Eventually, all was forgiven once the Cubs took home the World Series in 2016 but still, there wasn’t a day that passed by where Bartman didn’t hear every curse word in the book hurled in his direction.