ESPN Pushes Steve Bartman 30 For 30 Film Back Until 2011
102 Years & Counting
Today marks the seventh anniversary of the infamous Steve Bartman game played in Chicago between the Cubs and the Florida Marlins. With the anniversary on the docket ESPN had shot a 30 For 30 film that was originally set to air in two weeks but now has been pushed back until sometime after 2011.
In game 6 of the 2003 National League Championship Series, commonly referred to as the “Bartman” game, a foul ball came down the left-field line off the bat of Marlins Luis Castillo which put in motion a series of events at Wrigley Field that led to an eight-run, eighth-inning rally that doomed the Cubs best chance in 48 years of going to a World Series.
Former manager Dusty Baker said the next day the Cubs would invite Bartman to the victory parade if they won the World Series. But they lost Game 7 and have not won a postseason game since.
ESPN had scheduled Academy Award winning filmmaker Alex Gibney’s documentary on Bartman entitled Catching Hell to coincide with the start of the World Series but the film was recently pushed back from Oct. 26 to some time in 2011 at the request of Gibney.
Bartman never has spoken publicly about his infamous moment in Cubs history, though he apologized the next day and the Cubs issued a statement absolving him.
