It may have taken Bill Buckner and the Boston media and fanbase twenty-two years to reconciliate, but that does not mean it has to take that long for Steve Bartman to be welcomed into Wrigley Field again.
Of course, the fact the Red Sox have won two World Series Title in the last four years probably has something to do with Buckner throwing out the first pitch Tuesday for Opening Day.
Now, what people forget is that Bill Buckner came back to play for the Red Sox in 1990 and it has been known that Buckner's issue was never with the fans or vice versa but more of with the media of Boston. Buckner has always been associated with costing the Sox the World Series in 1986 with an error in Game Six. When, in fact the game was tied at the time and the Sox even had a lead in Game Seven before losing.
This is obviously a similiar situation to Game Six of the 2004 NLCS when the Cubs were five outs away from the World Series against the Florida Marlins and the eighth inning unraveled due to many factors. None of whom were because of Steve Bartman. One could blame Dusty Baker, Mark Prior or Alex Gonzalez for individuals plays or decisions that went on in that eight inning.
Steve Bartman was just one of five Cub fans to make a play for that ball that Moises Alou may or may not have caught. It is not his fault that the Cubs lost Game Six and subsequently Game Seven.
It is time for the organization to officially exonerate Steve Bartman for the crime of being in the wrong place at what should have been the right time. The fanbase should welcome back a Cub fan and for the purgatory that Steve Bartman has been in the last three and half years, he deserves his own day at Wrigley.
Keywords: Bill Buckner, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Steve Bartman, Wrigley Field
