I’ve been a baseball fan all my life. My earliest memory is the last day of the 1964 season when the Cardinals, Phillies, and Reds all had a chance to win the National League. My Dad drove our family to his work friend’s home so we could all watch the Reds game on their “big TV”. I remember how disappointed everyone was that the Reds season ended that afternoon. My fandom began that day though. I’m sure you’ve heard that “fan” is short for “fanatic”, someone who supports a team with an intense level of devotion. Being a baseball fan can be joyous or frustrating, sometimes during the same game or even the same inning. Once you become one, you are in it, for better or worse, for the good or the bad.

Bad fan experiences start with the story of Steve Bartman. Recently, I watched the ESPN documentary “Catching Hell” on the misfortunate incident 22 years ago. We all know the story. In the eighth inning of Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS between Florida and Chicago at Wrigley, Cubs outfielder Moises Alou attempted to make a catch near a wall in foul territory. The ball was deflected by a Cubs fan, Bartman. The leftfield line umpire ruled no fan interference. The Cubs went on to lose the game and the NLCS. Bartman became the target of fan furor at the game and thereafter. In 2016 the Cubs extended a World Series ring to Bartman as an olive branch. Bartman graciously accepted with these words: “I humbly receive the ring not only as a symbol of one of the most historic achievements in sports, but as an important reminder for how we should treat each other in today’s society.” Bartman is a class act.

Not so classy acts involve fan interference in an intentional way. In 2005 at Fenway Park a Red Sox fan reached over the outfield wall and swung at Yankees outfielder Gary Sheffield trying to make a catch. The fan struck Sheffield in the mouth and was ejected from the game. He was not arrested. Just last October at Yankee Stadium in the World Series, the Dodgers’ Mookie Betts attempted to catch a foul ball when two Yankees fans interfered, one grabbing his glove and the other prying the ball out. The umpired ruled fan interference, the fans were ejected, and are now banned from MLB games. In both instances, fan intensity crossed the line. MLB has announced that it will take a strong stance against any fan interference going forward.

Historically, there are some fun stories. Fans used to be allowed onto the field while the games were played. In the early 1900s when the grandstands were packed at ballparks such as Wrigley, teams allowed fans to stand in the outfield and hold ropes to serve as outfield barriers instead of the walls we know today. Over the rope a home run, under the rope a double. Of course, the outfield fans enjoyed a little game of home field advantage, pushing the ropes forward or back depending upon which team was hitting. Newer ballpark designs and fan safety concerns triggered the end of such practices in the 1920s.

Just about a week ago baseball was reminded of another crazy practice in Wrigley history. You see, in the 1960s fans, many of whom had one too many alcoholic beverages, often would jump over the outfield wall onto the field after Cubs wins, and sometimes during the games. Chicago constructed a basket at the top of its outfield wall in 1970 to counteract the practice. In a July 21, 2025, game between the Royals and Cubs, a Cubs fan tumbled into the basket to get a home run hit by KC’s Jac Caglianone. Unfortunately, the fan needed some assistance in getting out of the basket. The basket had served the purpose for which it was constructed 55 years ago.

Fan safety is a big part of the equation. On May 19, 2019, at Houston’s Minute Maid Park, in a game between the Cubs and the Astros, a 2-year old girl was struck in the head by a foul ball, suffering severe damage. While the Astros and her family reached a financial settlement two years later, the incident triggered fan safety analysis and the need for expanded protective netting in all MLB ballparks. Most recently, the expanded netting has been extended to minor league ballparks as well. The onus though is still on fans to be aware of foul balls hit into the seating area. If there ever was a good example for getting off your cellphone and watching the event you paid to see, attending a baseball game should be at the top of the list.

And then there’s the absolute worst kind of fan, the heckler. I recall going to a game years ago with business colleagues when one of them spent a great deal of time heckling opposing players. I couldn’t believe it. Heckling turned dark blue at Rate Field recently when a 22-year old White Sox fan continued to espouse derogatory comments at Diamondbacks’ star, Ketel Marte. The comments concerned Marte’s mother, and Marte was clearly shaken by the matter. He was tearing at the mound when Arizona manager Torey Luvullo hugged him in a show of support. Luvullo asked that the fan be ejected from the game, and White Sox personnel quickly did so.

Baseball did all the right things in the aftermath of the incident. The fan has been indefinitely suspended from all MLB ballparks. The next night at Rate Field the White Sox displayed this message: “Baseball is family. The White Sox community supports Ketel Marte.” Luvollo himself was truly family to Marte, serving as a father-like figure at a time when Marte needed him the most. And Luvullo captured the moment in words we fans always need to keep in mind when we attend games: “We need better baseball fans. Baseball deserves better.”

Until next Monday,

your Baseball Bench Coach