The first live execution of a baseball took place on Thursday night, as the infamous "Bartman Ball" was blown up on national television at Harry Caray's restaurant in downtown Chicago.
The ball, which was bought by the restaurant for $113,824 at an auction, did receive proper treatment before its destruction. Harry Caray's went as far as letting the ball have its own private $300 a night suite in a Chicago hotel, and giving it a massage on Wednesday night.
The restaurant even decided to go all out in destroying the ball, bringing in Michael Lantieri, the man who won an Oscar for his special effects work in "Jurassic Park," to blow it up. Lantieri was quoted on "SportsCenter" as saying, "My goal is to demolish it so bad that it will be unidentifiable."
Surprisingly, Steve Bartman himself was invited to the demolition, but he declined the offer. Good thing; knowing Cubs fans, Lantieri might have blown up Bartman too.
Reach the reporter at matthew.reinick@asu.edu.
