Foul Ball Incident
At the time of the incident, Mark Prior was pitching a three-hit shutout for the Cubs in the eighth inning. The Cubs led the game 3–0, holding a series lead of 3–2. They were five outs away from reaching the World Series for the first time since 1945; the Cubs had not been baseball's champions since 1908. Luis Castillo was at bat with one out and teammate Juan Pierre on second base.
Bartman was sitting in the front row along the left field corner wall behind the on-field bullpen when a pop foul off the bat of Castillo drifted toward his seat. Cubs left fielder Moisés Alou approached the wall, jumped, and reached for the ball. Bartman attempted to catch the ball, failed to secure it, and in the process deflected it away from Alou's glove. Alou slammed his glove down in frustration and shouted at several fans. The Cubs, in particular Alou and Prior, argued for interference, but umpire Mike Everitt ruled there was no fan interference because the ball had broken the plane of the wall separating the field of play from the stands and entered the stands. Cubs manager Dusty Baker didn't see the play, due to the curvature of the Cubs dugout blocking his view of the play.
On Fox, Thom Brennaman called the play this way:
Again in the air, down the left field line. Alou reaching into the stands and couldn't get it and is livid with a fan.Read more about this topic: Steve Bartman Incident
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