2) 2003: The Steve Bartman play
In 2016, the Chicago Cubs ended a 108-year world championship drought by beating the Cleveland Indians in seven games. For more than a century, fans on the northside of Chicago had to deal with billy goats and mediocre teams as the franchise continued to lose year-after-year. One name, however, is synonymous with that suffering: Steve Bartman.
Bartman was a Cubs fan, watching Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS with friends down the left field line as the Cubs took on the Florida Marlins. Seated in Aisle 4, Row 8, Seat 113 at Wrigley Field, Bartman saw the Cubs take a 3-0 lead into the top of the eighth inning as they tried to make the World Series for the first time since 1945.
The Cubs chances at the time seemed promising. Not only did they have a three-run lead with six outs to go, they had Mark Prior on the mound. Prior, 23, seemed destined for stardom. In just his second year in the majors, he went 18-6 with a 2.43 ERA in 2003 and finished third in Cy Young voting. Through seven innings he held the Marlins to just three hits without giving up a run.
It all came unraveled that inning, however, and Prior would never again be the same. He got the Marlins lead off batter out, but he no longer appeared sharp. Juan Pierre twice fouled off two-strike pitches before hitting a double. The next batter, Luis Castillo, fouled off three pitches with two strikes before drawing a walk. It was the eighth pitch of that at-bat against Castillo that would change the Cubs’ destiny.
Castillo lofted a fly ball down the left field foul line. Cubs left fielder Moises Alou ran towards the wall and leaped up trying to catch it. As the ball came down in the first row, a sea of hands reached for it. The fan who did make contact with it was Bartman. Alou’s glove was empty, and he angrily threw it down believing fan interference had cost the team an out. Bartman became the target of fans’ wrath and had to be escorted from the stadium.
Meanwhile, the at-bat with Castillo ended with a walk on the next pitch. Prior again got to two strikes on the next batter, Ivan Rodriguez, who then hit the 0-2 pitch for a single to score Pierre. The Cubs then looked like they might catch a break. Miguel Cabrera hit a groundball to shortstop Alex Gonzalez for a potential double play. Gonzalez, who led the National League in fielding percentage among shortstops in the regular season, bobbled it and all runners were safe. Derrek Lee then lined Prior’s next pitch, his 119th of the game, to left to score Castillo and Rodriguez and tie the game.
Prior was mercifully lifted for reliever Kyle Farnsworth, but the Marlins weren’t done just yet. They loaded the bases again for Mike Mordecai, who hit a double to left that scored three runs. The Marlins would score eight runs in the inning and go on to win 8-3 to force a seventh game.
The Cubs still have a chance the next night, taking a 5-3 lead thru four innings with Kerry Wood on the mound. Once again, however, they blew the lead and lost 9-6.
Florida beat the New York Yankees in the World Series, while the Cubs had to wait another 13 years before ending their championship drought. Prior played just three more years for the Cubs before injuries ended his career at the age of 25.