Yesterday, the Chicago Cubs lost 6-5 to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 11 innings. The Cubs had a 5-4 lead with two outs in the ninth inning but Cubs left fielder Alfonso Soriano dropped a fly ball allowing the Pirates to tie the game.
Soriano said after the game, “It hit in my glove but I didn’t see the ball. I see very clearly when it got off the bat, but when the ball’s coming down it’s getting in the sun, so I lose it.”
Cubs fans have seen this before. On September 23, 1998, Cubs outfielder Brant Brown dropped a fly ball allowing the Milwaukee Brewers to win (link for video clip of the error is at the end of this post).
From http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/mlb/news/1998/09/23/cubs_brewers/:
Brant Brown drifted back in left field for the final easy out, sunglasses down to shield him from the glare of the late-afternoon sun. The ball landed right on his glove, drawing cheers from the Chicago fans. But the shouts of joy quickly turned to gasps as the ball dropped to the ground, possibly taking the Cubs' playoff hopes right along with it.
The Milwaukee Brewers scored three runs on Brown's error for an 8-7 victory Wednesday
"I don't know how to explain it," said Brown, who went to left field in the eighth inning as a defensive replacement. "The bottom line is I clanked it and we lost the game. You can say the wind, you can say the sun, but those are elements you play with every day. Hopefully, it doesn't cost us that much."
With a 7-5 lead in the ninth, Rod Beck (3-3) loaded the bases with one out. Beck gave up a single to Mark Loretta and a double to Jeff Cirillo, and then intentionally walked Jeromy Burnitz to pitch to Marquis Grissom. After Grissom popped up, Geoff Jenkins hit the fateful fly ball.
Here is a clip of that play with thanks to a Cubs.com Message Board poster for finding it.
Also, I have to include an audio clip of Ron Santo's famous "OH NO!!" call.
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