MVN - Most Valuable Network

Moises Alou: Don’t Blame Bartman

For baseball fans, Steve Bartman needs no introduction. Of course, he was the guy who attempted to catch a foul ball in Game Six of the 2003 NLCS between the Cubs and Marlins, knocking it away from the glove of Moises Alou. That play spurred the Marlins to a huge eighth inning comeback, erasing a 3-0 deficit and ultimately winning the game 8-3 in front of a stunned Wrigley Field crowd. Florida won the next game 9-6, earning a trip to the World Series.

Ever since then, Cubs fans have used Bartman as a scapegoat for their squad’s loss in the 2003 NLCS. But on Tuesday, more than four years after the incident, Alou spoke out about the infamous play and stated that he wouldn’t have caught the ball — even if Bartman had not interfered:

“Everywhere I play, even now, people still yell, ‘Bartman! Bartman!’ I feel really bad for the kid,” Alou told Associated Press columnist Jim Litke.

“You know what the funny thing is?” he added a moment later. “I wouldn’t have caught it, anyway.”

That stands in stark contrast to Alou’s reaction at the time. After the play, he jumped up and down with his arms outstretched.

After the game, he said: “I timed it perfectly, I jumped perfectly. I’m almost 100 percent that I had a clean shot to catch the ball. All of a sudden, there’s a hand on my glove.”

Look, it’s no secret that someone’s feelings about an event can dramatically change over time…but did it seriously take Alou four and a half years to reach the conclusion that he wouldn’t have caught the ball, even if Bartman had never attempted to grab it? Why couldn’t he have made these statements a while ago, and spared Bartman several years of secrecy and humiliation?

Anyways, I’m hoping this finally brings the Bartman insanity to an end, as I’ve always felt quite sorry for the guy. Honestly, who among us wouldn’t have reached out for that ball, if we were in Bartman’s position? He did what any fan would have done in that situation.

If you need someone to blame for the Game Six collapse, blame Alex Gonzalez. He botched a double-play ball that would have ended the half-inning with the Cubs leading 3-1. Gonzalez would be regarded as the Bill Buckner of Chicago had the Bartman controversy never occurred.

Well Moises, I guess this is better late than never…although you’re a bit late with this statement, it’s refreshing to see someone who was directly involved in the incident sticking up for Bartman. Here’s hoping that Cubs fans will take note of what Moises said — because if they do, there’s a chance that Bartman might actually be able to walk down a Chicago street without being harassed for supposedly costing the Cubs a World Series berth.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 2nd, 2008 at 1:38 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.