Catching Hell: The Steve Bartman Incident
The Phenomenon of Scapegoating
Documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney approaches Catching Hell and the Steve Bartman incident by revisiting the Bill Buckner error.
Steve Bartman had the unfortunate luck of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Nobody could forget the sight of a Chicago Cubs fan wearing a green turtleneck, listening to headphones, and reaching out over the wall to try and catch a foul ball. Oh yeah, Moisés Alou just happened to be going for the ball. Bartman wasn’t the only fan trying to catch the ball. All the replay evidence on camera—yes, there’s quite plenty of replays—shows other fans in the area are trying catch the ball. Someone else ultimately left with the ball but Bartman gets the blame and later starts fearing for his life.
I overheard all the screaming in the hallway during my freshman year at Bradley University. Nature happened to call so I missed it when it happened. The next day, my brother emailed me saying he could no longer be a Cubs fan. It wasn’t until getting back to my dorm room in which I saw all the replays again and again. You can watch the game for yourself now that MLB Vault has uploaded it on YouTube.
But as much as baseball fans remember the Steve Bartman incident, Miguel Cabrera hit what should have been an inning-ending double play on a ground ball to short stop Alex Gonzalez. Gonzalez closes his glove just a bit too early, loading the bases. The gloves came off from there with the Florida Marlins scoring eight runs in the eighth. But where’s the blame on Gonzalez in all of the commotion? All the attention and blame was falling onto Bartman, for better or worse. That definitely felt like the case for the Fox broadcasters Thom Brennaman, Steve Lyons, and Al Leiter. Lyons was even defending Bartman during Game 7!
This is where we get Gibney’s fascination with scapegoats. They could have blamed the Cubs defense—especially Gonzalez—for the Marlins coming back into the game. Instead, the blame fell on Bartman. Let's go back nearly two decades earlier to the iconic Game 6 of the 1986 World Series between the Boston Red Sox and New York Mets. Bob Costas was already in the Red Sox clubhouse waiting to interview players. The champagne and trophy were there. But as Costas recalls, "like a scene change in a Broadway musical. In, out, gone, not a trace."
Going into the bottom of the 10th inning, the Red Sox could start feeling it. Hell, "Congratulations Boston Red Sox, 1986 World Champions" would flash briefly on the scoreboard--a bad omen no matter which direction you're looking. Gary Carter singles. Kevin Mitchell pinch hit for Rick Aguilera, hitting a single. Ray Knight singles to center, scoring Carter and advancing Mitchell to third. Pitching change. Mookie Wilson at the plate. A wild pitch scores Mitchell to tie the game 5-5, Knight advances. All of this happens before Wilson's grounder gets through Buckner's legs, driving in Knight for the win. Buckner conveniently becomes the scapegoat, capturing the wrath of both Boston fans and the media.
It’s such a fascinating approach to view the lens through the 1986 World Series but it makes sense when one considers the fact that Gibney is a Boston Red Sox fan. While this documentary was a few years removed from the 2003 game in 2011, the Red Sox has since won 2 World Series championships. Buckner did decline a chance to return to Fenway Park following the 2004 win. He finally would make a return following the 2007 championship when he threw out the first pitch to teammate Dwight Evans on Opening Day. He broke down during a pre-game press conference discussing his return.
“I really had to forgive, not the fans of Boston, per se, but I would have to say in my heart I had to forgive the media,” Buckner said, after apologizing for taking so long to answer. “For what they put me and my family through. So, you know, I’ve done that and I’m over that.”
A Tribeca red carpet interview is on the DVD as a bonus feature. In the interview, Gibney reveals that Bucker didn’t want to participate initially. He wrote a few letters and Buckner finally agreed.
“I think his interview is very, very poignant. He’s a guy who really reckoned with it, honestly, and also, I think overcome a tremendous amount of abuse that was unfairly sent his way so it was a very interesting and moving portrait of him.”
I could not agree more. The Buckner footage more or less makes the film.
Another bonus feature on the DVD is an extended interview with Gibney. There are shots of Gibney that we do not see in the film. They are weaved in with the footage of his appearing as a guest of Dave Kaplan on his then-WGN Radio show. Gibney mentions that they did attempt to reach out in hopes of interviewing him. Obviously, he declined. I certainly cannot blame him for wanting to not do any media interviews.
Among those appearing in the documentary are broadcasters Bob Costas, Steve Lyons; Fox Sports producer Jeff Gowen; radio host Dave Kaplan; journalists Bob Ryan, Dan Shaughnessy, Ron Borges, Wayne Drehs, Jim Litke, Brian Hedger, John Kass; TV reporter Dane Placko; filmmaker Matt Liston; players Eric Karros, Moisés Alou, and Mike Lowell. Others appearing include fans, attorneys, and security guards working the game.
A coda to the whole incident is that the Chicago Cubs lifted the Bartman’s burden by offering him a World Series ring in summer 2017. In Bartman’s statement, he was relieved and glad to finally put the situation behind him.
DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER: Alex Gibney