» Baseball History: Past and Contemporary

Baseball History: Past and Contemporary

February 25th and 26th mark two baseball events of some moment.

Thirty-five years ago, on February 25, 1972 the Phillies and the St. Louis Cardinals consumated the momentus trade which brought Lefty Steve Carlton to the Phillies in exchange for righthander Rick Wise.

Carlton went on to amass 241 wins, including a 27-10, 1.97 ERA 1972 record for a team which won a mere 59 games, 4 subsequent 20 win seasons and 4 Cy Young awards in leading the Phillies to contention between 1974 and 1983 including 5 division championships, 2 NL pennants, 2 world series appearances in 1980 and in 1983 and a World Championship (in 1980).

Wise, on the other hand, went 16-12 in 1973 leading the Cards to a tight 2nd place finish, 1 1/2 games behind the Mets who went on to lose the world series to the Oakland Athletics 4 games to 3. In 1975, after going to the Boston Red Sox, he led the pitching staff with a 19-12 mark joining Luis Tiant and Bill Lee in leading the Red Sox to the world series which they lost by 4 games to 3 to the Cincinnati Reds.

On February 26, 2004, the infamous ball interfered with by Cubs’ fan Steve Bartmen in Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS with the Florida Marlins was exploded “an attempt to exorcise the curse that has kept the Cubs from reaching the World Series since 1945.“

Baseball reference writes on that series and the incident;

2003 Postseason

NL Division Series (3-2) Cubs (NLC) over Braves (NLE)

NL Division Series (3-1) Marlins (WC) over Giants (NLW)

NL Championship Series (4-3) Marlins over Cubs

World Series (4-2) Marlins over Yankees

Steve Bartman is the Chicago Cubs fan who interfered with a foul fly ball that Moises Alou was attempting to catch with one out in the 8th inning of Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS on October 14, 2003 (Boxscore). The Cubs ended up losing the game and the series to the Florida Marlins. The Cubs were ahead 3-0 at the time, but proceeded to squander the lead following this play, thanks mostly to an error by shortstop Alex Gonzalez. While Alou would have had a chance to make the catch, it would have been a stellar play by him and by no means a sure thing; in any case, Bartman’s intervention prevented Alou from having any shot at the ball. The Marlins went on to score 8 runs during the inning to put the game away, while FOX repeatedly showed Bartman during the broadcast. He was forced to leave the game early out of fear for his safety. He has not returned to Wrigley Field since despite being an avid Cubs fan all of his life.

Florida Governor Jeb Bush offered Bartman asylum in Florida following the series.