'Natural' Woman Dies, Ruth Ann Steinhagen: Obsessed Teen Fan who Shot MLB Star Eddie Waitkus, Inspired Film, Dead at 83 [VIDEO]

Recent reports confirm that Ruth Ann Steinhagen, the infamous "obsessed" fan who shot MLB star Eddie Waitkus and inspired the 1984 film "The Natural," died on December 29, 2012 at the age of 83. Following the shocking 1949 shooting (which Waitkus survived), Steinhagen fell into obscurity and lived the rest of her life as a hermit in Chicago. Although she passed away from natural causes approximately three months ago, the Chicago Tribune first reported about her death just last week (Friday, March 15).

Steinhagen, who inspired the hit crime film "The Natural" (starring Barbara Hershey and Robert Redford) grew up having a "teenage crush" on the handsome Chicago Cubs first baseman, Eddie Waitkus. When Waitkus was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies following the 1948 season, Steinhagen was not amused. She decided that it was time for Waitkus to die.

When the Phillies came to Chicago to play against the Cubs at Wrigley Field on June 14, 1949, Steinhagen promptly booked a room at the Edgewater Beach Hotel — the same place where Waitkus and fellow team members were staying. She slipped him a note after the game that said, “We’re not acquainted, but I have something of importance to speak to you about.”

Once Waitkus arrived to her room, Steinhagen explained she had a surprise for him - a gun. The obsessed teen took the rifle and aimed it directly at Waitkus' chest, then shot. Waitkus survived the shooting and a judge determined that the young girl was insane, so the ball player didn't press charges. Steinhagen was committed to a mental hospital and released three years later. The case blew up in the media, and inspired the 1952 baseball novel "The Natural," written by Bernard Malamud (the same inspiration for director Barry Levinson's 1984 film).

After being released, Steinhagen faded into a small Chicago community located just miles away from the hotel where she shot Waitkus. The MLB star passed away in 1972.

"[Steinhagen] chose to live in the shadows and she did a good job of it," John Theodore, an author who wrote a 2002 nonfiction book about the crime ("Baseball's Natural: The story of Eddie Waitkus"), wrote in an email to ABC on Sunday (March 17).

The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office (who confirmed her death) was surprised to learn of Steinhagen's true identity so many months later.