The infamous Steve Bartman baseball is dead.

Four months after breaking the hearts of Cubs fans everywhere, Harry Caray’s Restaurant blew the ball to smithereens Thursday night in downtown Chicago.

The restaurant paid more than $113,000 for the ball at an auction in hopes of putting to rest another chapter in the Cubs long, yet seemingly cursed existence.

The controversial ball came to fame during Game 6 of the National League Championship Series. With the Cubs just five outs from going to the World Series, the Marlins’ Luis Castillo hit a fly ball down the left field line, a ball many believed that Moises Alou would catch for the Cubs.

As Alou situated himself under the ball, Bartman, not knowing Alou was right beneath him, reached out and tried to grab the would-be souvenir. Bartman wound up deflecting the ball, causing Alou not to catch it.

The Marlins came back to beat the Cubs and went on to the World Series, leaving the Cubs out of the fall classic for the 58th consecutive year.

Several people gathered at Fatty’s Bar and Grill, 1312 W. Lincoln Highway, to watch the ball be destroyed.

Michael Kaminski, manager of Fatty’s, said the off-season acquisition of Greg Maddux will play a bigger part in the Cubs’ future than the destruction of the Bartman ball.

“You can’t blame that guy,” Kaminski said. “If I was in that situation, I probably would’ve tried to catch it, too.”

Upon being blown up, the ball took a slight jump and then exploded from the inside out, leaving a pile of string and mush behind.

The crowd at Fatty’s then let out a loud cheer and applauded the ball’s demise

Sophomore computer science major Kenneth Williams said the Cubs should have held onto the ball as a piece of history.

“Keep it, preserve it, just don’t blow it up,” Williams said. “It’s not going to change anything.”

NIU law student John Gibbons disagreed with Williams’ idea of saving the ball and had a more creative idea for what the Cubs should have done with it.

“They should take that ball and spread the ashes all over Yankee Stadium,” Gibbons said. “They could use a curse.”

The Ups & Downs of the cubbies

l June 2, 1906: Cubs capture National League pennant.

l Oct. 12, 1907: Cubs claim first World Series title, beating Detroit 2-0.

l Oct. 14, 1908: Cubs become first team to win back-to-back World Series, beating Detroit.

l Sept. 11, 1918: The Cubs lose the World Series to the Boston Red Sox four games to two.

l Oct. 8, 1929: Cubs fall 3-1 to Philadelphia in first World Series game at Wrigley Field.

l Oct. 8, 1945: Cubs beat Tigers 8-7 in World Series Game 6, which forces the World Series to Game 7. The Cubs lose the series two days later, 9-3.

l Sept. 24, 1984: Cubs clinch NL East title with 4-1 win in Pittsburgh. Eight days later on Oct. 2, the Cubs crush the Padres 13-0 in the Cubs’ first postseason game since 1945.

l Sept. 26, 1989: Cubs clinch NL East title with a 3-2 win in Montreal.

l Sept. 28, 1998: Cubs capture NL wild-card postseason berth with a 5-3 win against the Giants in a one-game playoff.

l 2003: The Cubs upset the East Division champion Atlanta Braves, 3-2, in the five-game National League Division Series. It marked the first postseason series win for the Cubs since 1908. The Cubs were five outs away from advancing to the World Series for the first time since 1945 but lost Games 6 and 7 of the NL Championship Series at home and were eliminated by the Florida Marlins.

Source: mlb.com

Staff Commentary

Say “Game 6” to a Cubs fan – and stand back.

Frustration like that is hard to look at up close.

Every die-hard Cubs fan knows what that means – Steve Bartman’s interference and the Cubbies’ historic collapse.

That October night almost the entire city of Chicago was pulling for the boys in blue. It had been too many years since they had gone to the World Series, and it seemed like Game 6 of the National League Championship Series was going to push them there.

But during the eighth inning everything came crashing down for the Cubs.

No one on Waveland Avenue knew what had happened inside Wrigley Field. Then we looked at the scoreboard to see the Marlins take the lead. Not only did they take the lead, but they blew the Cubs out of the water.

What turned out to be one of the best reporting experiences ever turned into sheer depression as I had to change my main question for fans from “So, how do you feel about the Cubs finally going to the World Series?” to “I know you don’t want to talk about this, but what are your thoughts on the Cubs actually winning Game 7?”

Fans, like my brother, paid at least $500 for one ticket just to witness history.

Perhaps Thursday night’s destruction of the ball Bartman deflected from Moises Alou will curb the effects of the curse former Billy Goat Tavern owner put on the Cubs when he and his goat were not allowed to remain at the Friendly Confines.

Or maybe the goat should just be let back into Wrigley Field.

In any case, there’s always this year.