What does it mean to be a scapegoat in sports?
Could it be an umpire or referee who makes a bad call? A fan who reaches out to catch a foul ball? A player who turns the ball over or makes an error? A coach or manager who makes a bad decision that comes back to bite him? And why do we focus on the so-called scapegoat?
Perhaps it’s because their mistake changed the fortunes of a game or series. Maybe it’s because we want to find someone to blame for why we’re frustrated. But this raises another question. Does each instant where something goes wrong really need to be magnified to such an extent? Why can’t we just move on and finish the game or series? Why does one moment have to be the reason for a failure?
We’ll be looking at three controversial figures in baseball history who were made out to be scapegoats because of one moment and why they didn’t deserve the hate they received.
Don Denkinger
Don Denkinger is a name that lives in infamy for St. Louis Cardinals fans.
Denkinger was an American League umpire during the 1980’s and was part of the umpiring crew that called the 1985 World Series between St. Louis and the Kansas City Royals. He was umpiring first base in Game 6.
On a ground ball to first by Royals outfielder Jorge Orta, Cardinals closer Todd Worrell raced to the bag for a play. Jack Clark threw to his pitcher, who got to the bag in time and caught the ball for the out, only it was not ruled as such.
Denkinger called Orta safe and the Cardinals immediately protested. Because it was the 80’s, there was no way to challenge the call. And sure enough, the Cardinals began to falter. Clark missed what should’ve been an easy pop-up, and St. Louis was ultimately walked off by Dane Iorg.
The following night was Game 7, and Denkinger was behind the plate. The Cardinals were blown out 11-0 and lost the series. During that game, the Cardinals entire team vacated the dugout to unleash their anger onto Denkinger. Whitey Herzog even told him that had he made the right call in Game 6, they wouldn’t have had to be there for a Game 7.
After the series, Denkinger received hate mail from St. Louis fans, including a few death threats. All of this could have been avoided had (a), the Cardinals put Game 6 behind them and gone on to win Game 7, or (b), if the fans had just looked themselves in the mirror and understood that sending the man death threats wouldn’t change anything.
Bill Buckner
Buckner became yet another symbol of failure and defeat in the eyes of Red Sox fans, who at the time, hadn’t seen their team win a World Series since 1918.
In 1986, the Red Sox took the field in the bottom of the tenth inning in Game 6 three outs away from changing that. But relievers Calvin Schiraldi and Bob Stanley imploded, which allowed the Mets to come back and tie the game.
Outfielder Mookie Wilson followed with a tapper to first base, where Buckner was playing. Buckner got in position to make the play, but the ball snuck under his glove and Ray Knight scored the winning run for the Mets to force Game 7.
Red Sox fans immediately threw in the towel and went into panic mode, beginning to obsess over the “Curse of the Bambino.”
Boston even jumped out to a 3-0 lead in Game 7, but after starter Bruce Hurst was pulled, Schiraldi replaced him and promptly gave up six runs. The Mets would go on to win it 8-5, and Buckner would receive tons of unnecessary hate from Sox fans up until they won it all in 2004.
Steve Bartman
In 2003, the Chicago Cubs came out of nowhere to win the NL Central. They knocked out the Atlanta Braves in a five game NLDS to advance to the Championship Series.
There, they met up with the then Florida Marlins.
The Fish won a back-and-forth Game 1, but the Cubs would win three in a row to take command of the Series. After losing Game 5 on the road, they returned home for Game 6 of the series.
And they had every reason to feel confident. They had their ace, Mark Prior on the mound.
Lifelong fan Steve Bartman had a ticket for Game 6, and attended with a few friends. During the game, Bartman had a headset on so that he could listen to the radio broadcast while watching.
The Cubs jumped out to a 3-0 lead, and Prior was cruising up until the 8th, when a foul ball by Marlins second-baseman Luis Castillo went into the stands.
Cubs Left-fielder Moises Alou reached into the crowd to try and pull it out, but he was unsuccessful, as several fans went for it. It just happened to bounce off the hands of one unlucky fan, that being Bartman.
Alou threw a temper tantrum and the crowd went silent. The Cubs subsequently collapsed. Because of Bartman, a more crucial play in that 8th inning gets overlooked. Shortstop Alex Gonzalez bobbled what should’ve been an easy double-play ball.
Fans however, took out their ire on Bartman, throwing a beer in his face and hurling trash at him as they screamed in a fit of rage. Bartman had to be escorted out, and following the game, there were police outside of Wrigley Field in riot gear, anticipating the situation to turn ugly at any moment
The Marlins would go on to score eight runs in that one inning, forcing a Game 7.
Of course, as was the case for the Cardinals in ‘85 and the Red Sox in ‘86, the series was not yet over. But Cub fans felt the “Curse of the Billy Goat” rear its ugly head again.
The Cubs fell behind early in Game 7, but rallied for five runs to take the lead, once again putting themselves in position to advance to the World Series. But the bullpen collapsed and the Marlins won, completing a comeback from a 3-1 series deficit. Florida would also end up beating the Yankees in the World Series, capturing their second title.
None of these people asked to be in the spotlight. It could’ve all been avoided had fans just taken a step back and realized that each of these moments were just blips on the radar screen in the grand scheme of life and that there were/are multiple reasons why a team could pull off an epic collapse in a postseason series.
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