grandmastapoop;842572363 said:
WHAT!!! How has this story never been told?
http://www.mercurynews.com/sports/ci_28976460/cubs-fan-steve-bartman-might-owe-his-life?source=rss&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed
I'm guessing Braun was recruiting Vierniesel, and likely others. Huh.
As the article says, Braun had returned home to watch the Cubbies in 2003 advance to the World Series. His dad grew up there, he played SS for chicago suburb New Trier HS baseball team, he's always been a Cubs fan.
[INDENT]Braun was right near Bartman that night. He was the one who called security when he saw things getting out of hand in a hurry with other fans' rage.
"I was only a couple rows behind him and I saw what was happening. Fans were very irate," Braun recalled to The Associated Press at Pac-12 men's basketball media day Thursday. "First it was insults, then it was beer cups, then it was beer bottles and other things. Pretty soon I said, 'You know, I think somebody better contact the security, it's pretty serious,' so I did. Security came and escorted him out. Of course they had to cover him because people were throwing things at him. From what I understood they took him back into the clubhouse, kept him there 'til after the game and got him out of town somehow, maybe put him in disguise. That was going to be a pretty ugly incident."
Braun still remembers it well.[/INDENT]
It's a bit of a stretch, however, to suggest Bartman might owe his life to Braun. How many others called for security, including security themselves, who certainly could have already been in motion on their own.
I think if the Cubs make the WS, they should invite Bartman out to throw the first pitch and allow the community to apologize. He could publicly apologize for being the wrong guy at the wrong moment. It was innocence, really, all the way around. It would be cathartic for everyone.
