Ricketts Says Cubs Will 'Reach Out' To Steve Bartman, Who Probably Wants To Be Left Alone

By Rachel Cromidas in News on Nov 16, 2016 9:52PM

Photo: Tyler LaRiviere

Cubs owner Tom Ricketts says he has been more than happy to lift the North Side team's "lovable loser" label this year, but he's not stopping there. Ricketts told reporters Wednesday that the team would be reaching out to infamous Cubs pariah Steve Bartman to make peace. Bartman is, of course, the fan who caught the ball that resulted in the team's diminished chance of going to the World Series in 2003.

“I’m sure we’ll reach out to him at the right time,’’ Ricketts told USA Today, in an interview that also delves into plans for the World Series trophy and other symbols of the historic victory. “I’m sure we’ll figure something out that provides closure for everybody. Hopefully, we can make it work.

“But you know, I never focused on ghosts or curses or Bartmans or any of that stuff. It’s always been about needing a better team on the field. We wanted to eventually get to that point where we can pick out rings, like we did (Tuesday), and here we are.’’

We're not sure how Bartman would feel about that, though. Bartman has long symbolized the extension of the so-called curse against the Cubs to superstitious fans, and he has fled from the public eye, even as people began calling for him to symbolically throw out the first pitch during the World Series this year.

According to Business Insider, the man still lives in Chicago, is still a Cubs fan, and would probably still liked to be left alone already. And his friend and informal spokesman, Frank Murtha, has said that Bartman has refused past invitations from the Cubs to come back to Wrigley, along with book proposals, paid vacations and requests to appear in commercials.