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Originally Posted by DrewD55
Turned on SportsCenter early this morning. Saw that the Bartman film Catching Hell is finally airing tonight @ 8 ET. I was watching that game when it happened. Wasn't really pulling for one team or the other and would have been happy for either, but at the time, I thought the guy should have gotten out of Alou's way. Except that the ball was out of the field of play, so a fan touching it wasn't interference. I'm sure this film will be well-done, but I have an issue with it right off the bat, which is that the situation is no different than the Denkinger call in the '85 WS between the Cardinals and Royals or Buckner's blown play in '86. All three things occurred in Game 6s. To blame a series loss in any one of them on a single play like that is looking at it in hindsight, which is taking the easy way out. The teams all had Game 7 to redeem themselves and didn't. Hell, the Cubs still only needed that last out in their Game 6, even after the Bartman play, and their pitching fell apart. That said, I'll still watch it.
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There's a really good story on ESPN.com right now about Pat Looney, a Chicago firefighter who was sitting right in front of Bartman and pulled his hands back at the last minute, allowing Bartman to be the one to make contact with the ball. Even though he didn't touch it, he and his family were still targeted and threatened after the incident.
However, he makes a really good point that if anyone was to blame, it was SS Alex Gonzalez, who booted a double play ball that would have ended the inning. However, today, most baseball fans know the name Steve Bartman but have no idea that Gonzalez blew that play two batters later.