Between the Lines
Cubs' fans had seen it before, but never quite like this.
Five outs away from their first World Series in 58 years, they watched a rather innocent-looking fly ball drift down Wrigley Field's left-field line. Outfielder Moises Alou moved to his right to catch the ball, and looked ready to make the play.
Meanwhile, in the stands, several fans put their hands up to catch the ball, oblivious to the fact that Alou was heading over to make the catch. As Alou reached up, one unfortunate fan also grabbed for the ball. Neither of them caught it.
Alou's face contorted with a combination of anger and astonishment, and he slammed his glove down demonstrably on the turf. The sure catch turned into a foul ball. The batter, Florida's Luis Castillo, reached on a walk. After a hit, shortstop Alex Gonzalez botched a double-play ball, and the Cubbies' 3-0 eighth inning lead turned into a baffling 8-3 loss. The Cubs went on to lose game seven. The Marlins moved to New York for the World Series, and the Cubs cleaned out their lockers.
With that play, poor Steve Bartman unwittingly joined Bill Buckner, Mitch Williams, Johnny Pesky and others in a rather dubious fraternity -
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Kyle Kondik
