The Detroit Tigers and the Boston Red Sox are now tied at 1-1 in their American League Championship Series after the amazing comeback in Game 2 by the Sox and that run in the ninth inning was fueled by a missed catch from Prince Fielder, something that looked eerily familiar to the Steve Bartman play from 2003.
A little context first. The play by Fielder came in the ninth inning, meaning it was after the Boston Red Sox tied the game in the eighth on a grand slam from David Ortiz at 5-5, but it definitely helped set up the winning run. In the ninth inning with nobody out, Fielder went after a popup on the side of the wall leading into the stands after Jarrod Saltalamacchia put one up high on the first base side.
Fielder moved closer to the ball and it looked as if he would have had a chance to catch it, but some fans reached for it as well and while replays showed they did not directly hit the ball, they may have hit his arm of his glove and the ball fell foul. Even though no one directly hit him, it looked as if the commotion definitely had an effect on things.
After that, it was over. Jonny Gomes was on second base with no one out when Fielder went after the ball and after he missed, the Tigers threw a wild pitch that put Gomes on third base and then Saltalamacchia finished things off with a game-winning single for the 6-5 win. Making the play even more interesting in relation to Bartman, the 10-year anniversary of his game came the next day and since the game went past midnight, it technically happened on the same day.
The play was compared to Bartman because of where it happened and the fact that Fielder did not make the catch, but since that game in 2003 was a home game and would have been a play for the home team clearly it's a bit different. Either way, fate ended up in similar places, as the Marlins came back to win that game 10 years ago and this time the Red Sox were able to complete the comeback after Fielder missed the catch.
Now if the Red Sox end up winning this series, that play could come back to haunt Tigers fans the same way it has for Cubs fans. Sure, the success of the two franchises is a bit different, but if Fielder catches that ball, maybe Gomes doesn't get to third and somehow the team gets out of the inning. Maybe someone should ask Bartman about that?
