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Chicago Cubs Make History the Wrong Way, Fans Blame Fellow Fan for Loss

On Tuesday, October 14, 2003, baseball fans and historians turned on the TV to see history in action: behind pitching ace Mark Prior, at home in Wrigley Field, the Chicago Cubs were supposed to win the NL Pennant for the first time since the end of the War Bonds. Heading into the 8th Inning up 3-0, the Florida Marlins were done in the Wrigley Fish-fry. Less than a half hour later, at the middle of the 8th, the Cubs were the ones who got their paws burned, suddenly down 8-3. But the Marlins' rally will be remembered for all the wrong reasons. And a different kind of baseball history, reminiscent of Mrs. O'Leary's cow starting the Great Chicago Fire, was made instead.

For the Marlins' half of the 8th, SS Mike Mordecai, CF Juan Pierre, and 2B Luis Castillo were due up. On a 2-1 count, Mordecai sent a fly-ball into LF Moises Alou's glove for the first out. On a 2-2 count, Pierre dropped a double into Left Field. On a wild pitch by Prior, Pierre took Third. After fouling off three 3-2 pitches, Castillo drew a walk. C "Pudge" Rodriguez launched an RBI single into Left Field. Score: 3-1, Cubs. Up to this point, all the plays were fielded by Alou out in Left. Aside from the wild pitch, in which Pierre might not have otherwise scored, that was just good baseball.

On the very first pitch, RF Miguel Cabrera reached on what should have been an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play. Instead, SS Alex Gonzalez hit the ball with the heel of his gloved hand and fumbled around trying to pick it up. By the time he did, everyone was safe and the bases loaded. Error two to the Cubs. (The first error came on a harmless throwing error by 2B Mark Grudzielanek, trying to turn a 4-3 play in 3rd Inning.) On the very next pitch, 1B Derek Lee made the Cubs pay again by sending a 2-RBI double into Left. Score: 3-3. That was all for the defeated Prior.

When the Cubs sent reliever Kyle Farnsworth to the mound, the very first thing he did was reload the bases on a four-pitch free pass to 3B Mike Lowell. Huh? LF Jeff Conine slugged a sac fly to Sammy Sosa in Right. Cabrera, Lee, and Lowell all tagged up and took an extra base. That means Cabrera scored. Score: 4-3, Marlins. D'oh. Todd Hollandsworth was up to pinch hit for P Chad Fox, and Farnsworth gave him a free pass to First as well. Bases reloaded. Uh, again. On a 2-1 pitch (the second ball being in the dirt), Mordecai exploded into the Left Field corner for a 3 RBI double. The same Mordecai who led off the inning. Score: 7-3 Marlins. Double d'oh. After only 13 pitches, Farnsworth was sent to the showers.

Thirteen pitches: 8 intentional balls, 2 balls that missed the zone, 1 called strike, 1 hit for an out, 1 hit for a double, and no swinging strikes. Thirteen pitches, and only one out to show for them. Aside from the fly-out, that was the stupidest baseball strategy I have yet witnessed.

Relief Pitcher Mike Remlinger came in and threw six pitches. On the first, Pierre got his second hit of the inning, an RBI bloop single into Right Field, bringing the score to 8-3 Marlins. On the sixth, a 2-2 pitch, Castillo popped up to Grudzielanek, and the fireworks stopped.

Now after all these strategic and tactical blunders were committed, nobody in the media will focus on a single one of them. They will instead focus on a fan incident back at the beginning of the inning, a 1-out 3-2 pitch to Castillo. Castillo hit that for a pop foul down the Third Base Line, destined to go just inches into the stands. Alou tried to field it, leaping and reaching into the stands to try and get a foul-out. Whether he would've caught the ball or not, we will never know.

We'll never know because a Cubs fan broke an unwritten rule of Wrigley Field and Cubs Baseball: Never interfere with the flight of a ball hit by an opponent, and if it comes to rest in the stands, toss it back onto the field. The fan got caught up in the moment and tried to catch the foul ball, deflecting it away from Alou. For his life and personal safety, the Cubs security staff escorted him out of the park, and out of the same concern I doubt he'll ever be allowed back.

The fan is blameless.

The ball was hit foul, and the umpires made the right call by not ruling fan interference. The Cubs didn't lose because of that fan. The Cubs didn't lose because of any fan. The Cubs lost because they let that incident get to them, they mentally set themselves up for failure, and they let that failure play itself out.

Castillo drawing the walk should've worked better for the Cubs anyway, what with making Cabrera hit into a surefire double play, but it was the wild pitch that cost the Cubs the run Pierre scored. Had the pitch not gotten away, and had the normally sure-handed Gonzalez gloved the ball, Pierre and Castillo would've been left on base in a double play, Pudge forced out at 2nd for Out #2, and Cabrera forced out at 1st for Out #3, just like the plays the Cubs turned all night long. The fan who tried to catch the foul can not be blamed for the loss. The fan can't be blamed for a single Marlins run scored. The Cubs got angry, let the incident get under their skins, and blew themselves up.

If the Cubs don't put this behind them, if they don't instead rally behind their other hot young pitching ace (Kerry Wood), the Cubs will once again stand up their date with destiny. To, of all teams, a wildcard upstart.

October 14, 2003 (C) Don Thornton II. For Internet media, permission to link to this page or to include this page within a Web frame is granted. For non-Internet media (such as television, radio, and print), permission to reproduce this article's full textual contents including this notice of copyright is granted. Except for the terms stated in this notice of copyright, all rights are reserved.