Some Baseball Myths Debunked!

I don’t know if any of you saw the latest ESPN 30 for 30 offering “Catching Hell”…but it was fantastic.

And it was fantastic for a number of reasons.

First, it was incredibly well done.  Director Alex Gibney has been blasted (by some) for including himself as both the narrator and in an on screen cameo. 

But, for me, the thing needed that.  Given there was no real anchor to the piece (the movie jumped around instead of giving a straight narrative of the incident at hand), Gibney and WGN’s Dave Kaplan provided that.

Next, it re-opened the wound that most of us are familiar with…but, for whatever reason, know little about.

Meaning. 

Steve Bartman’s interference (if you choose to call it that), had nothing to do with the collapse of the Chicago Cubs.  It made an out…into a foul ball, or, a strike.  It did not lead to the eight runs the Florida Marlins put up.

And, most importantly, it did not make the Cubs lose Game Seven which was played the next night.

Lastly, and probably the most interesting part…it showed the douchebaggery that encompasses a lot of Wrigley Field.  I’ve never seen a group of people react, wrongly, the way that Cubs fans did that night and…still do.

Let’s agree, the thing Bartman is most guilty of is not being able to catch a fly ball.

Another guy who is putting out some quality videos is good friend of The Hall Paul Sullivan.

“Sully” continually asks the questions we’re all thinking and, along the way, makes us (or at least me) think that our water cooler conversations have some merit.

Now, enjoy some myth debunking…Sully-style!