For many years, Steve Bartman could not show his face around the city of Chicago because of an incident that occurred on October 14, 2003, during the top of the eighth inning of Game 6 of the NLCS.
If you’re not familiar with what happened, here’s the clip.
Favoured to come out of the NL after beating the first-place Atlanta Braves in five games in the NLDS, the Cubs’ luck turned after the Bartman incident and they eventually lost to the eventual World Series champion Florida Marlins in seven games.
Cubs fans felt like that was the year for them to break the curse and once the Bartman incident occurred it basically felt like 100 more years were added onto the already existing curse. However, that all changed last year when the Chicago Cubs defeated the Cleveland Indians in seven games to capture their first World Series in 108 years.
With the team capturing its first World Series title since 1908, Cubs fans could finally forget about the curse that lingered around for many, many years and even the franchise as a whole has started to move on.
On Monday, it was revealed that the Cubs gave Steve Bartman his very own 2016 World Series Championship ring as a way of trying to make up for everything he had to go through over the 13 years leading up to the World Series victory.
Bartman was not at the victory parade and rally after the Cubs won the World Series, but was in attendance on Monday to receive his World Series ring from Chicago Cubs owner Tom Ricketts, as well as Cubs President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein and President of Operations Crane Kenney.
During the event, Bartman issued the following statement to WGN-TV.
"Although I do not consider myself worthy of such an honor, I am deeply moved and sincerely grateful to receive an official Chicago Cubs 2016 World Series Championship ring. I am fully aware of the historical significance and appreciate the symbolism the ring represents on multiple levels. My family and I will cherish it for generations. Most meaningful is the genuine outreach from the Ricketts family, on behalf of the Cubs organization and fans, signifying to me that I am welcomed back into the Cubs family and have their support going forward. I am relieved and hopeful that the saga of the 2003 foul ball incident surrounding my family and me is finally over.
I humbly receive the ring not only as a symbol of one of the most historic achievements in sports, but as an important reminder for how we should treat each other in today’s society. My hope is that we all can learn from my experience to view sports as entertainment and prevent harsh scapegoating, and to challenge the media and opportunistic profiteers to conduct business ethically by respecting personal privacy rights and not exploit any individual to advance their own self-interest or economic gain.
Moreover, I am hopeful this ring gesture will be the start of an important healing and reconciliation process for all involved. To that end, I request the media please respect my privacy, and the privacy of my family. I will not participate in interviews or further public statements at this time.
Words alone cannot express my heartfelt thanks to the Ricketts family, Crane Kenney, Theo Epstein, and the entire Cubs organization for this extraordinary gift, and for providing the City of Chicago and Cubs fans everywhere an unforgettable World Championship in 2016. I am happy to be reunited with the Cubs family and positively moving forward with my life."
It’s nice to see the Cubs reach out to Bartman and give him his very own ring as a way to say sorry for everything you had to go through, but it’s even better that Bartman can now move on with his life now that the Cubs have a World Series title that all their fans can remember.
(H/T Twitter/ChrisKuc)
