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His name is Steve Bartman and he was a no show at work and in hiding ;)
Man in stands described as diehard fan
October 15, 2003-Sun-Times

BY ANNIE SWEENEY, FRANK MAIN AND CHRIS FUSCO

The man some fans blame for Tuesday night's Cubs loss because he reached out and might have kept left fielder Moises Alou from catching a foul ball is a diehard Cubs fan who works for a consulting firm in the north suburbs and coaches youth baseball.

In a chant that could be heard on the national telecast of the game, fans all over Wrigley Field joined in cursing Steve Bartman after he got his hand on the foul ball off the bat of the Florida Marlins' Luis Castillo in the eighth inning. Castillo went on to walk, and the Marlins, who entered the inning down 3-0, went on to score all eight of their runs en route to an 8-3 victory that sent the National League Championship Series to a deciding seventh game tonight.

Alou, who at first was visibly upset, later absolved Bartman of blame. But Gov.Blagojevich isn't ready to let Bartman off the hook.

Blagojevich joked this afternoon that he might be able to get Bartman into witness protection, adding, "If he commits a crime, he won't get a pardon from this governor. You've got to be looking out for your team."

Bartman, 26, works at Hewitt Associates, an international consulting firm in Lincolnshire, the company confirmed.

"He is an associate at Hewitt, and he is not coming to work today because of the incident," Suzanne Zagata-Meraz, a spokeswoman for Hewitt, said this morning. "That was a decision that Steve and [Human Resources] made together. We have been in contact with Steve."

Bartman couldn't be located for comment. Messages left on his voicemail were not returned. A man who answered the door at the Northbrook home where friends and a neighbor said Bartman grew up defended his actions, saying he only did what came naturally when a foul ball came his way.

"He's a huge Cubs fan," said the man, who responded to "Mr. Bartman." "I'm sure I taught him well. I taught him to catch foul balls when they come near him."

He declined to say any more and would not confirm his relationship to Steve Bartman.

A neighbor, Ron Cohen, said he has known the Bartman family for 20 years. He and others said Bartman was a graduate of the University of Notre Dame who played for and is now a coach for the Renegades, an elite youth baseball program in Niles.

Cohen said he saw Bartman on Sunday and that Bartman told him then that he had tickets to Tuesday's game.

"He felt great he got tickets to the game," said Cohen, 63.

Cohen was watching the game on TV with his son, who grew up with "Stevie," when they recognized the man in the Renegades shirt.

"I really was just surprised," said Cohen, who called Bartman's mother. "I think it's just a natural tendency. Everybody reaches. I'm not trying to defend him, but I think it's just a natural tendency. He may not have seen Alou coming."

He described Bartman as a baseball fanatic.

"He's a good kid, a wonderful son, never in any trouble," Cohen told a Sun-Times reporter. "I don't think he should be blamed at all. People reach for balls. This just happened to be a little more critical. If Florida didn't score all the runs, you wouldn't be standing here."

A parent whose son played baseball for the Renegades last year echoed Cohen's description of Bartman.

"He was a fine guy. He was a good baseball coach to my son," said Roger Shimanovsky, 41. "Believe me, I'm sure nobody feels worse about this than him."

Bartman is listed as a coach of the Renegades' 13-year-old team this year, according to the organization's Web site.

He also was a player on a 1992 Renegades team that finished with 47 wins and 10 losses and was the Palatine League champion.

The home where Bartman grew up backs up to a baseball field where his dad would hit pop-ups for him and his friends to catch, said Ron Cohen's son, Gary Cohen, 34. He said Bartman's favorite player growing up was Cubs second baseman Ryne Sandberg.

Back in his days as a student at Notre Dame High School for Boys, Bartman was an honors student, said Anthony Kozole, who is alumni director also teaches history at the Niles school.

"He was the type of guy who was enjoyable to have in class," said Kozole, who had Bartman as a student in his Advanced Placement modern European history class.

Bartman's father, Ted, also attended the school and the University of Notre Dame, Kozole said.

He recalled the younger Bartman as having a good sense of humor and being extremely active in extracurricular activities including theater, service organizations and varsity baseball.

Joe Villinksi, a Notre Dame High School spokesman, said Bartman influenced the school "in a tremendously positive way."