“Well, the stars seem to be aligned for the Chicago Cubs,” announcer Thom Brennaman mentioned in the beginning of the published for Game 6 of the 2003 National League Championship Series in opposition to the Florida Marlins on Oct. 14, 2003, at Wrigley Field.
It is unfathomable — even now, 20 years after a loss that eradicated the Cubs from 2023 playoff rivalry — how a staff that went 65-95 in 2002 might be one win from its first journey to the World Series since 1945.
Getting thus far hadn’t been simple.
At his introduction because the sixteenth Cubs supervisor in 20 years, Dusty Baker made no guarantees.
“My name is Dusty, not Messiah,” he advised reporters on Nov. 19, 2002.
First he smoothed issues over with Sammy Sosa, the Cubs’ greatest hitter who batted .288 with 49 dwelling runs but additionally had 144 strikeouts in 2002. Then he introduced some California sunshine to the Midwest by including infielders Eric Karros and Mark Grudzielanek from the Los Angeles Dodgers in December 2002. Changes additionally had been made to the bullpen lineup to assist the Cubs’ younger beginning pitchers — Kerry Wood (26), Mark Prior (22), Carlos Zambrano (22) and Matt Clement (28). Yet as Tribune reporter Paul Sullivan forewarned, relying too closely on this rotation might be “a recipe for disaster.”
These developments appeared promising, however Tribune reporter Phil Rogers cautioned as opening day approached:L “It will be a major surprise if Baker produces an instant contender.”
What occurred throughout the 2003 season?
Surprisingly, they did. The Cubs moved to the highest of the /National League Central Division by late April and remained there till early June. But a wide range of accidents (Sosa’s toenail, Prior’s shoulder, Wood’s sore again and Corey Patterson’s ACL), oddities (Sosa’s corked bat, a gnat invasion at Wrigley Field and new Cub Randall Simon’s run-in with a sausage-race contestant in Milwaukee) and scuffles (Kyle Farnsworth’s football-style takedown and Antonio Alfonseca’s stomach bump of an umpire) started to divert the staff’s consideration. They ended June by shedding 5 of six and eight of 11.
Still, Baker remained optimistic.
“If I could have told the world that on June 29, the Cubs would be one game out of first place, I think most of (the fans) would have been extremely happy,” Baker mentioned. “Are we happy where we are? No. But could it be a lot worse? The answer is that it has been a lot worse.”
When they had been 4 1/2 video games again on July 22, the Cubs traded for Aramis Ramirez and leadoff man Kenny Lofton, an East Chicago, Ind., native who performed for Baker with the San Francisco Giants. The transfer stuffed two key holes within the staff’s lineup — third base and heart discipline (the latter as a result of Patterson’s season-ending harm).
The Cubs obtained offended and aggressive as soon as once more. Baker sprinkled an unknown substance on Wrigley Field on Sept. 3, and the staff quickly regaining the division lead. The Cubs clinched the Central title on Sept. 27 — their first division championship since 1989 — with a doubleheader sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates, organising a division sequence showdown with the Atlanta Braves.
What occurred throughout the 2003 National League Division Series?
Wood pitched the Cubs to a 5-1 victory over the Braves in Game 5. It was the primary playoff sequence win for the Cubs since 1908.
“I never imagined this would’ve happened in year No. 1,” Baker mentioned. “But I’ll take it. I’m quietly subdued and happy and want to go back to the World Series.”
Baker would develop into the primary supervisor to take two groups to the World Series in consecutive years if the Cubs might defeat their subsequent opponent — the Marlins.
What occurred within the first 5 video games within the 2003 NLCS?
The Cubs had home-field benefit for the best-of-seven sequence in opposition to the Marlins.
- Game 1: The Cubs staked Zambrano to a four-run first-inning lead with two triples, a double and a two-run dwelling run by Moises Alou. But Zambrano couldn’t maintain the lead, giving up 5 runs within the third inning, together with three dwelling runs. Ivan Rodriguez hit a three-run shot, and one out later Orlando Cabrera and Juan Encarnacion hit back-to-back homers. After Joe Borowski yielded two runs within the ninth, the Cubs tied it within the backside of the inning on Sosa’s two-run homer run onto Waveland Avenue. But Mike Lowell hit a two-run shot off Mark Guthrie within the eleventh to present the Marlins the victory. Final rating: Marlins 9-8. Marlins lead sequence 1-0.
- Game 2: Cubs shortstop Alex Gonzalez hit two homers, Ramirez hit one and Lofton and Simon collected seven hits between them because the Cubs lastly rewarded pitcher Mark Prior with a simple night time. The 23-year-old ace received his second recreation of the postseason, his twelfth in 13 begins because the All-Star break and his twentieth of the calendar yr. He left within the eighth inning main 12-2. Final rating: Cubs 12-3. Series tied 1-1.
- Game 3: Simon hit a two-run homer into the right-field seats to erase the Marlins’ 3-2 lead within the eighth inning. Doug Glanville, pinch hitting within the eleventh, drove a triple to the wall in left-center discipline to attain Lofton with the profitable run. Final rating: Cubs 5-4. Cubs lead sequence 2-1.
- Game 4: Ramirez’s two dwelling runs and an NLCS-record-tying six RBIs launched the Cubs, whereas Clement pitched 7 2/3 innings to earn his first postseason victory. It gave them not only a 3-1 edge within the NLCS but additionally a 6-3 document in October. Final rating: Cubs 8-3. Cubs lead sequence 3-1.
- Game 5: Josh Beckett pitched a two-hitter and struck out 11. Final rating: Marlins 4-0. Cubs lead sequence 3-2.
What occurred in Game 6?
The night time of Oct. 14, 2003, was cool and damp with a temperature of 57 levels and a wind blowing 21-mph from left discipline to proper. The temperature was anticipated to drop into the low 40s throughout the recreation. “The field is very wet — especially the outfield,” Brennaman mentioned throughout the broadcast.
Tribune reporter Teddy Greenstein realized the tune blaring at Wrigley Field whereas Prior was warming up was Van Halen’s “Jump,” which got here from the band’s album “1984.”
“Yeah, 1984, the year the Cubs blew three chances to win the pennant in San Diego,” he wrote.
What follows are observations of what occurred that night time, inning-by-inning.
Jump to an inning
1st inning
<u>Top of the inning</u>
Prior, who had been named National League pitcher of the month for August, delivered the primary pitch to Marlins heart fielder Juan Pierre at 7:18 p.m. in entrance of 39,577 followers.
Earlier within the season, Prior advised reporters the language in his contract prevented him from enterprise a wide range of actions — from browsing to wood-chopping — but it surely didn’t point out pitch-count limits. The rookie threw greater than 120 pitches in a recreation 10 instances and greater than 130 4 instances throughout the common season and playoffs. From his first begin in September by Game 2 within the NLCS, his pitch counts had been 131, 129, 109, 124, 131, 133, 133 and 116. Yet once more, Baker anticipated Prior to settle in for a protracted outing. (It was revealed in spring 2004 that Prior had been pitching with a sore Achilles tendon down the stretch and throughout the playoffs.)
Still, he was firing strikes. Prior’s first 5 pitches crossed the plate from the knees to the waist. Pierre, who could be traded to the Cubs in 2005, hit a popup that Gonzalez caught for the primary out. Prior’s sixth pitch, additionally a strike, was deposited into left discipline by Luis Castillo.
Rodriguez, whom Baker had hoped to convey to the Cubs earlier than admitting “You can’t sign everybody,” was walked by on a excessive 3-2 curve to place runners on first and second. Rookie Miguel Cabrera swung on the primary pitch he noticed, hitting it sky-high to heart. Lofton caught it for the second out. Future Cub Derrek Lee, who was 1-for-12 with runners in scoring place throughout the postseason, struck out swinging on a hellacious slider.
<u>Bottom of the inning</u>
Lofton lined a pitch off his sneakers into proper and took second on an ideal bunt by Grudzielanek. Sosa, a .455 lifetime hitter in opposition to Carl Pavano, put collectively a terrific at-bat. He went with a 1-2 slider off the skin nook, dropping it down the right-field line to attain Lofton.
Ramirez hit a liner to left that was caught. Simon hit a rope to deep proper, inflicting the group to cheer earlier than Cabrera caught it.
Score: Cubs 1-0.
2nd inning
<u>Top of the inning</u>
Jeff Conine hit a one-out rope to first that Simon tried to stab with a leaping seize. But he couldn’t make the play. It hit off his glove, then his shoulder. He flipped to first base, the place Prior ought to have been, however the base was vacant. Prior made up for it by inducing a pair of groundouts.
<u>Bottom of the inning</u>
With one out, Paul Bako hit a grounder to quick. Alex (no center preliminary) Gonzalez (Yes, there are two gamers named Alex Gonzalez on this recreation — one on every staff — and so they each play shortstop) slipped on the moist grass, which gave Bako a free go. Prior tried to advance him with a bunt however couldn’t. With two strikes, Prior squared round. Then he pulled again the lumber however didn’t swing. Strike three.
Score: Cubs 1-0.
third inning
<u>Top of the inning</u>
Pierre hit a smooth grounder up the center that Grudzielanek grabbed on the run earlier than firing to first. The throw was low and went proper by Simon’s legs. That was an error on Grudzielanek.
Castillo took a excessive fastball that bounced off Bako’s glove for a handed ball. Pierre moved to second. Ramirez made a diving seize on Castillo’s bunt down the third-base line. After Rodriguez grounded out, Cabrera hit a pop into shallow heart. Lofton fell to his knees for dramatic impact however made the catch. The Cubs obtained out of the inning.
<u>Bottom of the inning</u>
Grudzielanek flied out, Sosa struck out and Alou was thrown out at first.
Score: Cubs 1-0.
4th inning
<u>Top of the inning</u>
Lee hammered Prior’s first pitch into heart. The ball, nevertheless, was buried within the wind, prompting Lee to shake his head. Lofton settled underneath it and caught it for the out.
Lowell, whom the Cubs had thought of buying within the offseason, struck out.
Conine walked, then Gonzalez took a swipe at a Prior curveball. He missed. It was Prior’s third strikeout.
<u>Bottom of the inning</u>
Ramirez led off with a single. Simon swung on the first pitch he noticed, a fastball a number of inches from the grime, which landed in Marlins shortstop Gonzalez’s glove for a simple double play. Cubs shortstop Gonzalez then walked. The inning ended when Bako hit a grounder that Castillo simply scooped up and threw to first.
Score: Cubs 1-0.
fifth inning
<u>Top of the inning</u>
Pavano stared at a two-strike curveball. Then Pierre lined a single to proper. Pierre tried to steal second base on a 2-2 fastball, however Bako obtained the ball to Grudzielanek in time to use the tag. One out. Prior pumped his fist.
Castillo hit a flare towards the third-base line. Alou and Ramirez converged, however Gonzalez dodged left-field umpire Mike Everitt to make the seize.
<u>Bottom of the inning</u>
The Cubs had been helpless in opposition to Pavano. They went down swinging thrice. Grudzielanek was sufferer No. 3.
Score: Cubs 1-0.
sixth inning
<u>Top of the inning</u>
Prior was dealing. He jumped forward 0-2 on Rodriguez, then buzzed him with a fastball earlier than coming again with a 2-2 curve. Pudge had no probability. Prior struck out Cabrera on a slider that bounced into a unique ZIP code. Lee flew out harmlessly for the third out.
<u>Bottom of the inning</u>
Sosa shattered his bat on an inside pitch, and the barrel skittered out close to second base, however he beat out the grounder to 3rd. Alou adopted with a single to left. Ramirez grounded right into a 6-3 double play.
With Simon due up, Marlins supervisor Jack McKeon changed Pavano (who had thrown simply 86 pitches) with lefty Dontrelle Willis. Willis had been a Cubs prospect however was traded to the Marlins with three different gamers in change for Alfonseca and Clement in March 2002. He was left off the National League roster by Baker, the staff supervisor, within the All-Star Game earlier that season.
Willis couldn’t discover the zone. His 3-1 pitch to pinch hitter Eric Karros was a slider within the grime and manner inside. It skipped previous Rodriguez, permitting Sosa to attain from third. And the group went wild.
Score: Cubs 2-0.
seventh inning
<u>Top of the inning</u>
The Cubs retired three Marlins with three fly balls — one to left discipline, the subsequent to heart and the final to proper. Prior set free a visual sigh of aid. Six outs remained.
If there have been a precursor to the catastrophe that awaited within the eighth inning, then it is likely to be attributed to the seventh-inning stretch. Comedian Bernie Mac — a lifelong White Sox fan — screamed “Let’s go, champs!” earlier than main the group in “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.” He altered the phrases from “root for the Cubbies” to “root for the champs.”
<u>Bottom of the inning</u>
Bako hit a leadoff single and moved to second on a Prior sacrifice bunt. After Willis struck out Lofton, McKeon did one other odd factor — he pulled Willis in favor of right-hander Chad Fox, who was final seen giving up a two-run homer to Simon in Game 3. Fox allowed an RBI single to Grudzielanek, making the rating 3-0. Then Sosa roped one to proper. The menace ended, nevertheless, on Alou’s flyout.
Score: Cubs 3-0.
eighth inning
“It was on this date in 1908 — 95 years ago today — that the Cubs defeated the Detroit Tigers, 2-0, to wrap up their second straight World Series championship,” Brennaman advised viewers when the published returned from a industrial break.
<u>Top of the inning</u>
Prior had been dominant, retiring the eight earlier hitters and throwing a three-hit shutout.
Mike Mordecai (who Brennaman notes shares the identical title as Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown, a member of the Cubs’ final championship staff) hit a excessive pop fly to left discipline, to begin the inning, which was caught by Alou. One away.
“The Marlins are beginning to run out of outs,” Brennaman advised viewers. “Four of the five Marlins wins they’ve had this postseason have been in come-from-behind fashion.”
Pierre hit a double to the left-field line. Cubs pitching coach Larry Rothschild made a name to the bullpen to get reliever Kyle Farnsworth to begin warming up and that’s the very last thing that occurred earlier than, properly, — the play that Cubs followers talked about and analyzed till the staff received the World Series in 2016.
With a 3-2 depend on the eighth pitch of his at bat and Prior’s 113th pitch of the night time, Castillo popped one up alongside the left-field wall. Alou, a former Marlin who received a World Series ring with the staff in 1997, ran towards the stands to make the catch however by no means obtained the possibility. A fan carrying a Cubs hat, later recognized as Steve Bartman, was amongst those that prevented Alou from snagging the ball. No one was capable of maintain onto the ball, which then bounced into the seats. Furious, Alou appeared to slam down his glove in anger. The crowd started to boo. Prior and different Cubs gamers appealed to left discipline umpire Mike Everitt, saying the play was interrupted by fan interference, however Everitt dominated the ball out of play.
After the sport, Alou took pains to say it was not the fan’s fault, however the replay was proven again and again and over.
It all will need to have been déjà vu for Alou. During a May 2003 recreation in opposition to Colorado at Wrigley Field, a fan interfered with a foul ball close to the identical spot, angering Alou in one other recreation the Cubs misplaced. A photograph of the fan interfering with the ball appeared within the Tribune the subsequent day, although that fan was not recognized or verbally abused. That controversy was rapidly forgotten.
This gaffe, Sullivan wrote, had already entered Cubs lore “alongside the black cat that crossed the Cubs’ path during the 1969 collapse and the ball that squirted through Leon Durham’s legs during the 1984 NLCS.”
In a press release launched a number of days later, Bartman described what occurred from his viewpoint: “I had my eyes glued on the approaching ball the entire time and was so caught up in the moment that I did not even see Moises Alou, much less that he may have had a play. Had I thought for one second that the ball was playable or had I seen Alou approaching, I would have done whatever I could to get out of the way and give Alou a chance to make the catch.”
When play resumed, Prior walked Castillo with a wild pitch that obtained away from Bako, which additionally allowed Pierre to advance to 3rd base.
With two on and one out after the stroll to Castillo, Prior had a convention on the mound with Rothschild, his infielders and Bako. On an 0-2 pitch to Rodriguez, Prior hung a curve that was ripped into left discipline for an RBI single (and in addition tied the NLCS document of 9 RBI set by San Francisco’s Matt Williams in 1989). Pierre scored, making it 3-1.
“Mostly people keep asking me what happened or how was it,” Prior mentioned. “For me it’s tough because I do replay that (eighth) inning occasionally over in my head and wonder if I should’ve done something different, or if I should’ve buried that curveball.”
What curveball? Prior was referring to the 0-2 pitch he threw to Rodriguez with runners on first and third and one out.
Cabrera hit a ball towards Cubs shortstop Gonzalez, who led all NL shortstops in fielding proportion, however Gonzalez let it hit off the heel of his glove whereas making an attempt to backhand it. The bobble foiled the potential double-play grounder to load the bases. Gonzalez earned an error. Castillo moved to 3rd and Rodriguez was on second.
Future Cub Lee was 0-for-3 within the recreation and 3-for-25 within the sequence when he swung at a 95-mph fastball on Prior’s first providing, lining it over Ramirez’s head for a game-tying, two-run double. It was additionally Prior’s ultimate pitch. The Wrigley crowd was shocked into silence.
Farnsworth deliberately walked Lowell earlier than Conine hit a go-ahead sacrifice fly to proper, which scored Cabrera. Sosa, who caught Conine’s ball in proper discipline, threw dwelling as a substitute of to second, permitting Lowell to advance. This grew to become vital after Baker ordered an intentional stroll to Todd Hollandsworth.
Mordecai’s three-run double off the left-field wall made it 7-3, killing the Cubs’ comeback hopes. Farnsworth was historical past after Mordecai’s double, changed by Mike Remlinger.
Pierre plunged the dagger a bit deeper, including an RBI single off Remlinger.
In all, the Marlins scored eight runs in 27 minutes.
It needed to be a haunting reminder for Baker. The earlier October, his Giants took a giant lead into the late innings of Game 6 of the World Series, however wound up shedding the sport and sequence to Anaheim.
<u>Bottom of the inning</u>
The Cubs went three up, three down in opposition to Ugueth Urbina.
Score: Marlins 8-3.
ninth inning
<u>Top of the inning</u>
Alfonseca gave up one hit in a scoreless inning.
Bartman, the fan, needed to be escorted from his seat by safety and followers hassled him as he exited.
“It’s not his fault,” Brennaman says throughout the broadcast.
<u>Bottom of the inning</u>
The Cubs, seemingly shocked and lifeless, went down 1-2-3 to finish the sport.
Fox obtained the win and Prior took the loss. The comeback by the Marlins pressured a Game 7.
Final rating: Marlins 8-3.
Postgame
“It has nothing to do with the curse,” Cubs supervisor Dusty Baker insisted. “It has to do with fan interference and a very uncharacteristic error by Gonzalez. History has nothing to do with this game, nothing.”
The Marlins went on to win Game 7 after which to defeat the New York Yankees within the World Series.
The Cubs had been upset once more by the Marlins within the 2020 Wild Card Series, shedding the sequence in a two-game sweep.
Sources: Tribune archives and reporting; AP; MLB; Baseball Reference
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