I’m not a big baseball fan — heck, I’m not a big sports fan — so I haven’t been paying much attention to the baseball games. I’d seen people mention the Cubs here and there, knew that there were big games coming up, but it just wasn’t a big thing for me.
Then the news broke about That Guy in Chicago reaching for the foul ball. So far, I’ve been absolutely disgusted at what has been done to this poor guy — practically within minutes of the event, his name, workplace, and even address had been published across the ‘net, with thousands of angry Cubs fans blaming him for the Cubs loss. Bad enough that the guy might have to wonder whether the ball would have been caught if he hadn’t reached for it — but now he has to worry about his privacy and, quite possibly, personal safety. The handling of the event by the media and various websites has been absolutely horrible.
At least there seem to be as many people also disgusted by this and concerned for the guy as there are people upset with him. Wil Wheaton has a wonderfully written (and funny) open letter to That Guy:
I used to be on this big cult TV show that had lots of very passionate fans. Many of those fans absolutely (and irrationally) hated the character I played on that show. Most of them wrote me nasty letters and heckled me whenever I’d show up at one of their events, they never called my house, or tried to hurt me, but I can sort of imagine what you’re going through. That thing that makes a sports fan wear only paint and a diaper to a ball game when it’s 15 degrees outside? It’s the same thing that makes a Star Trek fan wear the same unwashed uniform for 5 days in a row at a big ass con.
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I’ve read that just about every Cubs fan in the world is giving you hell for going after that foul ball. Well, That Guy, last time I checked, baseball fans like to catch foul balls. It’s something we do, like paying too much for terrible beer and screaming at a player for not picking up that slider that we’re so certain we’d be able to hit if they’d just put our fat asses in the game. Hell, I’ve been going to 20 or 30 games a season at Dodger Stadium for almost 30 years, and I try to catch a foul ball every single time I’m there. I’ve even had my hot wife flirt with the teenage bat boy in a pathetic effort to score one. To date, I am still empty-handed. But that bat boy, Jesse, is convinced that my wife’s going to leave me just as soon as he gets out of high school.
Rock on, Wil. And good luck and best wishes to That Guy.
If I am not mistaken I believe it is against the law to post someone’s personal and private information on the Internet, especially without their concent. This guy should sue big time!
Who wants to be his lawyer?
His name is Steve Bartman.
And no, in this instance, it isn’t illegal, and no, he can’t sue. His is now a limited public figure, and his entire life will (for a short time) be fair game for the press to delve into. And if the Cubs ever have a chance to get into the World Series again (sha, right) his name is sure to be brought up. And if the guy commits suicide because Chicago is rioting outside his door 24-7, then the press can look into whether or not their sensationalistic hounding had anything to do with his death.
Our media kinda sucks like that. But when he grabbed that foul right above the player’s glove, he became a public figure, like it or not. His actions thrust him into the public sphere, so he’s kinda screwed for a while. Hopefully Chicago fans will get over it, and treat the guy decently.
But if not, I hear that Jeb Bush (Governor of Florida) is considering offering Bateman asylum from his woes. ;)
I’m a baseball fan who shocked about the incident in chicago in 2003. I think the way the cubs fans reacted towards steve bartman was wrong and immature in the ballpark, and threating to kill him was not right. Since it is 2007, I hope steve and his family are going to sue the media, the newspapers, for invasion of privacy, endangerment, Defamation of character, etc. plus the broadcasters, and governer of Illinois for making crazy comments about him. The remark of Dusty Baker that the curse had nothing to do with the loss rather “fan interference” was a cop out. He should have taken the blame instead of shifting it to a fan. He said he “..never understood why (fans) do that,..” Heck! His was an automatic reaction of any baseball fan, anywhere, any time. A ball is coming your way, you reach for it. Gov. Blagojevich’s remarks that “Nobody can justify any kind of threat to someone who does something stupid like reach for that ball” was also uncalled for. He should have left out the word “stupid”. By making such a remark it makes HIM look stupid. Baker’s remarks also make HIM look stupid. Baker should have taken it like a man and admitted he made a mistake and not shift the blame. The Cubs management should look closely at this series and see who was really responsible for the Cubs loss. For example, why keep pitching curve balls to Rodriguez who just happenes to be the hottest hitter in the playoffs; especially with men on base. He seems to hit every curve you throw at him. Either walk the guy or pitch a slider that he has trouble hitting. The series was not lost on ONE play. I still think the Cubs were a better team but just got outcoached. If anything bad happens to Bartman, the coach, the Gov. the Chicago media and the newpapers should be sued to the max for instigating fan upheavel by their remarks.
That is my opinion
andre