Steve Bartman Didn’t Collapse the Cubs — But He Became the Story

Last Updated: June 17th, 2026 by Michael Schatz

October 14, 2003. Wrigley Field. Game 6 of the NLCS. If you’re a baseball fan then you know exactly what this is referring to: The Bartman Incident.

Odds are you remember exactly where you were when this infamous moment took place – I know I do. I was a freshman at Mississippi State, watching the game in the dorm with friends. I clearly remember all of us yelling when it happened. And then watching in disbelief at what unfolded next.

Let’s set the scene. The Curse of the Billy Goat was in its 95th year. The Cubs, winners of 88 games and the NL Central, had defeated the 101-win Braves in the NLDS. That set up a matchup with the Wild Card Florida Marlins in the NLCS. Despite being the wild card team, the Marlins had won an impressive 91 games.

But no one on the North Side cared. This was the Cubs’ year. They had home-field advantage. They had Mark Prior and Kerry Wood. They had a veteran lineup. And they had a 3-2 series lead. Wrigley Field was buzzing. This was it. Prior was on the mound with the Cubs a win away from their first pennant since 1945. This was the night it was finally going to happen.

And things couldn’t have started any better. Kenny Lofton singled to start the home half of the first and came around to score on a double by Sammy Sosa. The crowd was deafening. The Cubs would add single runs in the sixth and seventh innings, taking a 3-0 lead into the 8th.

Prior, for his part, was dealing. Going into that eighth inning he had only given up three hits. After retiring the first batter of the eighth, Prior had the Cubs five outs away from the pennant.

Then Juan Pierre doubled.

That brought up Juan Castillo. Castillo, always a tough out, worked the count full. On the eighth pitch of the at bat, Castillo lofted a ball toward the left field wall in foul territory. Cubs left fielder Moisés Alou raced over and got in position for the potential second out. He jumped…

And that’s when the hands of Steve Bartman reached out. The ball bounced off his hands, evading Alou’s glove, and fell to the grass. Alou was instantly upset. He wanted fan interference. So did Prior. However, left field umpire Mark Everitt ruled the ball had left the playing field and therefore was up for grabs.

This is our first piece of controversy. Did Bartman commit fan interference? Arguments can be made on both sides. It looks like Alou is going into the stands – which would not be fan interference. But from other angles, it looks like Bartman is reaching into the field of play – which would be interference. If Everitt had ruled fan interference then Castillo would have been out and the Cubs would have been 4 outs away.

But Everitt didn’t and the at bat continued.

On the very next pitch, Prior uncorked a wild pitch. Castillo walked and Pierre advanced to third. Suddenly, the tying run was at the plate in the form of Iván Rodríguez.

Prior quickly got ahead 0-2. It seemed the fire would be snuffed out. But Prior couldn’t finish. Pudge singled to left, scoring Pierre. It was now 3-1 Cubs with the tying runs on base and Miguel Cabrera stepping to the plate. The crowd was getting anxious.

But then Prior got Miggy to hit a ground ball to short – a tailored made double play ball. Except Cubs shortstop Alex Gonzalez – who led the NL shortstops in fielding percentage – booted it. Bases loaded.

On the very next pitch, Derrek Lee ripped a double into left. The game was tied.

It was about this time when things started getting bad for Mr. Bartman as well. Drinks and verbal threats were being hurled in his direction. It got so bad that security had to escort him out of Wrigley for his safety.

Things didn’t get much better on the field either. Prior was lifted from the game and replaced by Kyle Farnsworth. Farnsworth intentionally walked Mike Lowell to re-load the bases. Jeff Conine then hit a sac fly to right, giving the Marlins a 4-3 lead.

After another intentional walk to Todd Hollandsworth loaded the bases again, Mike Mordecai – who began the inning by flying out – cleared the bases with a double.

Mike Remlinger replaced Farnsworth and promptly gave up a single to Pierre, making it 8-3 Marlins. The inning finally ended when Castillo – who hit the ball Bartman ball – popped up. The Marlins would go on to win and force a Game 7, which they would win 9-6.

Angry and upset, Cubs fans needed someone to blame. And that someone was Steve Bartman. He was instantly vilified and blamed for the collapse. He was sent into hiding because of all the threats and had to release an apology, saying in part, “I am so truly sorry from the bottom of this Cubs fan’s broken heart.”

Even the Cubs players themselves tried to shield Bartman, telling fans that it was their failures that cost them the series, not Bartman. But it didn’t matter. Steve Bartman was Public Enemy Number One. It even went as far as one Cubs fan buying the ‘Bartman Ball’ at an auction for a staggering $113,824, and then blowing it up in an attempt to rid the Cubs of the curse.

Fast forward thirteen years and the Cubs did just that, winning the World Series and ending their 108-year drought. As for Bartman, although he stayed out of the public eye, he remained a loyal Cubs fan and was rewarded for that loyalty with a World Series ring of his own.

As sports fans, we root for our teams with everything we have. We live and breathe with every pitch. There’s nothing wrong with showing emotion. Baseball – and sports – mean so much to so many people. But what happened to Steve Bartman was unfair. It wasn’t his fault the Cubs gave up eight unanswered runs that night. And it wasn’t his fault that they blew a 5-3 lead in Game 7.

The fact Bartman made it through this ordeal is a testament to the kind of person he is. And the wild thing is – we’ve all been Steve Bartman. We’ve all jostled for position, reaching for a ball, trying to bring home that souvenir. He did nothing wrong.

To his credit, Bartman remained loyal to his team and now lives a quiet life, the curse finally lifted, and got something a little better than a souvenir ball. A World Series ring.