Cubs in 2003

So... this is what happened in the 2003 Division Series for the Cubs...

The Foul Ball Incident: At the time of the incident, Mark Prior was pitching a three-hit shutout for the Chicago Cubs in the eighth inning. Luis Castillo was batting, with one out and Juan Pierre standing on second base. The Chicago Cubs were leading 3-0, led the series three games to two, and were five outs away from reaching the World Series for the first time since 1945 and attempting to win it for the first time since 1908. Coincidentally, Game 6 was played on the 95th anniversary of the clinching game of the Cubs' last championship.

Bartman was sitting in a box seat (aisle 4, row 8, seat 113) in the front row along the left field corner wall behind the bullpen when a pop foul off the bat of Castillo drifted toward his seat. Cubs left fielder Moises Alou ran over to attempt a catch, but Bartman, who was watching the ball and not the fielder, got to the ball first. Alou slammed his glove down in frustration and was seen shouting in Bartman's direction, and the Cubs argued for an interference call. Video replays showed that Alou may have had an opportunity to make the catch if Bartman (as well as the surrounding fans) had not reached out for the ball. Umpire Mike Everitt's call of no fan interference was apparently correct; it appears that the ball was entering the stands when the incident occurred. The rules of baseball specify that fan interference cannot be called on a ball hit into the stands, only when a spectator reaches into the field of play and interferes. The play rattled the team, and Castillo later walked. That opened the floodgates (along with a crucial error by SS Alex S. Gonzalez, as noted below, who booted a potential double play moments later) and the Marlins scored eight runs, won the game, and later the series.

The Marlins took the NLCS and then went on to beat the Yanks in the 2003 World Series. As for the 'Bartman Ball'... It was shocked with electricity and exploded on a webcast for all fans to watch.