Steve Bartman, the man whose joined the Billy Goat in Cubs curse infamy during the 2003 NLCS is now redeemed with Chicago finally on top of the baseball world.
The now infamous look of a crew-neck sweatshirt, giant glasses, crinkled hat and a pair of oversized headphones might be seen around Chicago during the festivities, but he won’t be the one sporting it.
“He was just overjoyed that the Cubs won, as all the Cubs fans are,’’ Frank Murtha, a lawyer who has served as Bartman’s spokesman, told USA TODAY Sports on Thursday.
“We don’t intend to crash the parade,’’ Murtha said. “The one thing that Steve and I did talk about was if the Cubs were to win, he did not want to be a distraction to the accomplishments of the players and the organization.’’
According to Murtha, the 39-year-old is working and living in the Chicago area, but still won’t grant any public interviews. Some have even called for Bartman to throw out the first pitch or be part of the celebrations when next season begins, but he hasn’t shown any willingness that he’s going to do that. At least not yet.
Even though his life has been forever defined by taking a catchable foul ball away from Moises Alou in Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS, now that the Cubs have finally won the World Series, some of the ignominy has to go away. Right?
