Bartman Won't Be at Cubs' Parade, Fowler To Become Free Agent

By ESPN

The Chicago Cubs' first World Series championship in 108 years brought a collective joy to the team's fan base Wednesday night, including perhaps the most infamous among them, Steve Bartman, according to Frank Murtha, a lawyer who has served as his spokesman.

"He was just overjoyed that the Cubs won, as all the Cubs fans are," Murtha told USA Today Sports on Thursday.

Bartman was vilified in Chicago for a failed attempt to catch a foul ball during Game 6 of the 2003 National League Championship Series between the Cubs and Florida Marlins, a game the Cubs went on to lose.

He has not granted any interviews since the 2003 incident.

Murtha told USA Today Sports that Bartman still lives and works in the Chicago area but would not make an appearance at the Cubs' victory parade Friday.

"We don't intend to crash the parade," Murtha said. "The one thing that Steve and I did talk about was if the Cubs were to win, he did not want to be a distraction to the accomplishments of the players and the organization."

Fowler Going to be Free Agent

Chicago Cubs fans might be getting their first taste of bad news after the euphoria of a World Series win. Dexter Fowler says he will become a free agent.

Fowler, 30, signed a one-year deal this past offseason with a mutual option with the Cubs for 2017. He apparently won't be picking up his side of the deal.

"I'm definitely going to be a free agent, but hopefully it happens a little bit quicker than last year," Fowler said on SportsCenter on Thursday night. "You can't control what goes on, but I loved my time in Chicago and I'm definitely not counting them out, but we'll see what God has planned for us now."

Last offseason, Fowler appeared to be on the cusp of signing a three-year deal with the Baltimore Orioles but in a surprise move returned to the Cubs at the start of spring training.

Saying "it's all up in the air how close it was" in regard to the Baltimore deal, Fowler said: "I think I made the right decision. The Cubs came in last minute, we got something done, and it was a decision of a lifetime."

If he had signed with the Orioles, "I definitely wouldn't be in this position to bring back history to the Cubbies," he said.

Fowler, who is a switch-hitter, was an All-Star in his second season with Chicago and led off Game 7 of the World Series with a home run. He batted .276 in 125 games in the regular season, with 13 home runs, 48 RBIs and a .393 on-base percentage.

Obama Invites Cubs to White House

President Barack Obama has invited the World Series champion Chicago Cubs to visit him at the White House.

The team will have to make travel arrangements quickly, though, because Obama leaves office in mid-January. Obama extended the invitation to manager Joe Maddon during a congratulatory telephone call Thursday evening as he flew back to Washington aboard Air Force One.

Obama tweeted the invitation early Thursday, shortly after the Cubs won their first championship since 1908 by defeating the Cleveland Indians 8-7 in 10 innings.

The Cubs aren't Obama's preferred baseball team; his loyalties lie with the White Sox.

White House spokesman Eric Schultz said Obama rooted for the Cubs because he's from Chicago and the White Sox didn't make it to the championship. He said Obama watched the final innings of the game at his hotel in Miami late Wednesday after campaigning for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

Obama congratulated the Cubs at another Clinton rally Thursday. He said he had heard someone explain that, when the Cubs last won the World Series, inventor Thomas Edison was alive and sliced bread wasn't yet invented.

Obama said the championship "is actually, for Cubs fans, the greatest thing since sliced bread."