Infamous Cubs-Marlins foul ball up for auction
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CHICAGO, Illinois (Reuters) -- The infamous foul ball bobbled out of play by a Chicago Cubs fan that helped turned the tide against the long-suffering club in the National League playoffs is going up for auction, with a starting bid of $5,000.
MastroNet, Inc., a sports and Americana auction house, said the ball would be part of a 2,000-item telephone and Internet auction beginning on December 1 and ending December 18.
With the Cubs leading 3-0 and five outs away from their first trip to the World Series in 58 years, Luis Castillo of the Florida Marlins hit a pop-up in the eighth inning of game six of the National League Championship Series at Chicago's Wrigley Field last month.
Cubs outfielder Moises Alou said he would have had a chance to catch the ball but for a fan who tried to grab it, sending it into the seats and out of play.
The Cubs collapsed, allowing the Marlins to score eight runs in the inning and take the game. Florida went on to beat Chicago in the deciding seventh game of the series and to win the World Series against the New York Yankees.
Umpires ruled there was no fan interference, but the man who deflected the ball was showered with abuse and had to be removed from the stands for his own safety. He later became the object of jokes and other scorn circulating on the Internet.
He said he had no idea the ball was playable and apologized as a lifelong disappointed Cubs fan.
The auction house said the ball wound up in the hands of a 33-year-old lawyer identified only as "Jim" who was seated nearby and decided to auction it off to start an education fund for his family.
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