Forgiveness from the cross; forgiveness at the ballpark?

Writer's note: This column was submitted before the National League Wild Card game was played on Wednesday night. The assumption is made that the Cubs defeated the Pirates, and that the Cardinals are right now playing the Cubs in the division series. This writer, a Pittsburgh native, sincerely hopes he is wrong about last Wednesday's outcome. If so, if the Bucs won, the content of this column may be considered moot.

I'll say it. Someone should. The Cubs should invite Steve Bartman to tomorrow's NLDS Game Three at Wrigley Field. Maybe invite him to throw out the first ball. Perhaps have him sit with Theo Epstein, the Cubs' youthful team president. It's time. Time for forgiveness.

Steve Bartman made a mistake 12 years ago and he's paid for it ever since. During the 2003 National League Championship Series, with the Cubs up 3-0 in the eighth inning, just five outs from a trip to the World Series, Bartman did what a lot of fans do: He reached for a baseball. The ball was headed out of the field of play and toward his seat in left field. Bartman apparently deflected the ball with his hand, knocking it out of the reach of Cubs outfielder Moises Alou -- who reacted by slamming his glove violently on his thigh and cursing. The Cubs went on to lose that game and the game after that one. Result? No Series for the boys on Chicago's north side. Bartman was immediately blamed, becoming the Benedict Arnold of Cubs baseball.

The bespectacled Bartman, in his green turtleneck, wearing a headset, was escorted out of Wrigley by police after undergoing vicious verbal assault by other fans, some of whom poured beer on him. Bartman offered an apology to Chicago through an intermediary. He's never been to a game since, and has resisted all efforts to profit off the notoriety. Most recently, Bartman politely declined a free plane ride to Pittsburgh for this week's Wild Card game. The money raised for this gesture is now being donated to the Alzheimer's Association.

Holding on to a grudge is tempting. Grudge-holding is like wearing shoes a size too small. They hurt your feet, but you get used to the feeling. Holding a grudge, to employ a different metaphor, is akin to taking poison and hoping the other guy dies.

Cardinal fans should recognize the parallel to the Don Denkinger incident of 30 years ago. In game six of the 1985 World Series, Denkinger -- an American League umpire -- made an incorrect call at first base. The Cardinals, who were ahead in that ballgame, ended up losing. They lost the next game, too -- and the Kansas City Royals won the Series. In St. Louis and throughout Cardinal Nation, the name Denkinger was synonymous with incompetence. The umpire received hate letters and some death threats from people claiming to be fans of the Birds on the Bat. Unlike Bartman, Denkinger was not driven off from the game he loved, and, in fact, umpired another 13 years in the big leagues.

Steve Bartman apologized for his actions that long-ago night at Wrigley, and, in obscurity, has been the perfect gentleman. It's time for Cubs fans to make closure with a young man who would give anything in the world to relive that moment -- and this time, he'd keep his hand pinned to his side.

Invite him to tomorrow's playoff game, Chicago Cubs. Follow the example of the one who, while hanging in agony on the cross, made this appeal: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

With all the negativity surrounding sports these days -- assaults on women, suspensions for drug violations, hate speech by players and coaches -- the Cubs could light a candle in the darkness. That's what forgiveness is -- refusing to live anymore in the dark.

Time to say, "Welcome back, Steve Bartman."