Catching Hell

The oft-delayed "lost chapter" of ESPN's 30 for 30 series, this strives to be more than just a routine examination of the infamous Steve Bartman incident that may (or may not) have cost the Chicago Cubs a shot at the 2003 World Series. With the famously publicity-shy Bartman refusing to take part, the film instead leans on interviews with several of the fans to rub elbows with him that fateful evening and insightful confessionals from the announce crew that called the game, a good portion of the Cubs' starting lineup, the local news team that outed Bartman's identity to the public and several of the security guards that escorted him to safety as the situation escalated. Director Alex Gibney deserves credit for not only painting a broad, fair portrait of a chaotic, emotionally charged situation, but for rightly comparing it to other instances of misplaced blame and shameless scapegoating in pro sports and asking the difficult question of what exactly spins a knee-jerk reaction into a bonafide vendetta. Though the scrutiny of the Bartman play itself is a bit too intense at times, resulting in a run-time that's about 30 minutes too long, it accomplishes much more than a simple reenactment and should leave any serious sports fan wondering how many times they've reacted with the same brainless mob mentality over the years. Smart, challenging and honest; it's what any good documentary should strive to be.

October 14th, 2003 is a day many Cubs fans remember. Up 3-2 in the NL Championship series vs the Florida Marlins, they were primed to head to the World Series. With a 3-0 lead in the eighth inning and with one out, Luis Castillo hit a pop-up that was going foul. Moises Alou gave chase and the ball started to drift back towards fair territory. It never got fully to fair territory, and it never got into Alou's glove either. The ball was grabbed for and deflected by a fan sitting in aisle 4, row 8, seat 113. The Cubs would go on to give up eight runs that inning and lose the game, then they'd lose game seven.

Perhaps, now that they've won a World Series, it doesn't have quite the same significance or the same sting, but before 2016 that date was a source of angst. Even more than the date was the infamous fan who dared to try to catch a foul ball that was headed in his direction.

I'm not a Cubs fan, but I'm an avid sports fan, and that incident is singed into my brain. I wasn't even watching that series because my team, the A's, were already ousted by Boston, but after that game six between Chicago and Florida all I heard--all the way over here in California--was about that fan. Then, we learned his name: Steve Bartman, and we'd never forget it. Just like I didn't watch the Boston Redsox lose to the Mets in '86, as a sports fan I knew very well who Bill Buckner was. To think that a fan would become as infamous as a player for keeping his team World Series-less. And to think that a fan would be doxxed by a newspaper (The Chicago Sun Times) who are supposed to follow a code of ethics, is even stranger.

"Catching Hell" by ESPN Films is such an awesome documentary for me as a baseball fan. They analyze, scrutinize, and break down that play like I've never seen before. They provide so much context that you'll feel like a pitiable Chicago Cubs fan yourself. They also make a considerable effort to apologize and absolve Bartman from any wrongdoing. The documentary is directed by Alex Gibney, one of my favorite documentarians, and he does a spectacular job as always. I have to say, I never felt sorry for Steve Bartman until today. I, like thousands, no millions, of other fans felt he deserved all the animus he got. I hadn't thought about him or that play in a long time, but I almost feel like I owe him an apology as well.

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Director Alex Gibney is a Boston Red Sox fan and recounts Bill Buckner in 1986. He sees similarity to scapegoating Steve Bartman. The Cubs are supposedly cursed since the Billy Goat in 1945. They haven't won the World Series since 1908 or been in one since 1945. It's October 14, 2003 Wrigley Field in Chicago. In the 8th inning of Game 6 of the NLCS, the Cubs are ahead 3–0 and up 3 games to 2. With 1 out, Steve Bartman reaches out for a foul ball deflecting it from outfielder Moisés Alou. It is a compelling sports story and a legendary scapegoat. It is crowd psychology and human nature. It's got great behind-the-scenes footage dissecting the incident from every angle. The main missing ingredient is Bartman himself. It is perfectly understandable but that would have make it the definitive word.

Im not sure how ESPN goes about choosing those who direct the documentaries in the 30 for 30 series, but they always seem to find the best.

The documentary is as much about Bartman as it is the overall reaction of long suffering Cubs fans. Add in the description of how the Cubs securities forces got Steve Bartman out of there alive, and you have a fast moving, very entertaining and informative docudrama.

And there is plenty of new light shed on the infamous incident. Testimonies from fans that sat near Bartman (many of whom sympathize with the hapless Cubs fan) and learning that Bartman was actually at the game with friends was interesting. However, this pails in comparison when there is focus on the little league team (whose sweater Bartman was wearing that night) that Bartman was coaching at the time, and those young ball players support of their coach.

If anyone comes out the villain, it's the arrogant Cubs fan who left his seats in the nose bleed section to yell at Bartman, a man who to this day admits that he'd do it again, and blames Bartman for the Cubs lose.

Moises Alou doesn't come off too good at all. Alou comes off arrogant, and dismissive of the suffering that Bartman went through. Even with Alou's thick accent, you can tell that he still deep down blames Steve Bartman for the Cubs never making it to the world series.

This film not only manages to shed tons of new details on the incident, but also manages to have the viewer walk away wanting to buy Steve Bartman a beer and pat him on the back, instead of crucifying him.

And maybe that's what the Cubs (and their fans) need to do. It's time for the Cubs to forgive Steve Bartman the way the Red Sox forgave Bill Buckner.

PS It was interesting to know that Buckner was wearing a Cubs batting glove on his hand when he missed the bunt from Mookie Wilson.

Alex Gibney composed a masterpiece here! This is how a documentary should be done. Just right amount of input from those who were directly involved in the situations, and it keeps it interesting throughout. From players to fans, to reporters, security guards, it covers it all in great fashion. It is my favorite sports documentary of all time! Sports is serious business, and one miscue can alter history, and lives! Enough said, watch it!