'Bug Game' redux? Midges may impact Yankees-Guardians ALDS games in Cleveland
History may repeat itself when the Cleveland Guardians host the New York Yankees in the five-game American League Division Series this weekend.
As Zack Meisel, Joe Vardon and Marc Carig mentioned for The Athletic, the infamous midges are expected to swarm throughout downtown Cleveland when the Guardians welcome the Yankees for Game 3 of the ALDS on Saturday. Game 4, if necessary, will occur at Progressive Field on Sunday.
The Yankees held a 1-0 series lead as of Friday morning, with Game 2 set to take place in the Bronx later in the day.
Most recently, the sports world spotted midges at FirstEnergy Stadium when the Cleveland Browns hosted the Los Angeles Chargers last Sunday:
"They will be around for sure," Cleveland Channel 19 meteorologist Kelly Dobeck told The Athletic about the pests for the upcoming weekend. "Now, whether or not there’s going to be a huge mass swarm of them like there was Sunday (for the Browns game), or you know, 15 years ago when the Indians played the Yankees? Maybe."
It was, of course, back in 2007 when Yankees reliever Joba Chamberlain was overcome by midges during a well-known postseason matchup now referred to as the "Bug Game." Cleveland rallied from behind to beat the Bronx Bombers that evening and went on to win the series:
"Joba was literally out there like this," Guardians right-hander Triston McKenzie said while mimicking Chamberlain's actions from that famous night.
"They’re just there," Cleveland's scheduled starter for Game 3 added about the midges. "You just have to wear it."
"I would say just understand the situation," Chamberlain explained about advice he'd offer regarding dealing with the bugs. "If it’s to that point where it’s so bad that it’s affecting you, mentally it’s affecting you, then you stop the game. Everybody said they wished I would have stopped it … but you’ve got to remember, (at that point) I’ve only been in the big leagues for a couple of months. I don’t have a leg to stand on. If it had been Andy (Pettitte) or somebody that had been in the league, then you can say something. Hey, my job is to pitch. I was more pissed that I don’t think I threw two wild pitches all year and I threw two in one inning."
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