October 9, 2022: The Joe Musgrove Game

October 9, 2022: Game 3 of the National League Wild Card Series was held at Citi Field in Queens. It shouldn't have come to this: The New York Mets had new owner Steve Cohen's billions to spend, Max Scherzer to pitch Game 1, Jacob deGrom to pitch Game 2, a lineup loaded with hitters like Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso, and the home-field advantage in every game; while the San Diego Padres had lost their best player, Fernando Tatís Jr., to a season-ending suspension, and his replacement, Juan Soto, had underwhelmed since they traded for him.

But, being the Mets, the Mets found a way to blow it. Scherzer had nothing in Game 1. The Mets won Game 2. But in Game 3, Joe Musgrove shackled the Mets, who got only 2 baserunners all game long: A single by Pete Alonso to lead off the bottom of the 5th inning, and a walk by Starling Marte to lead off the bottom of the 7th. And the Padres got the hits they needed, and eliminated the Mets, 6-0.

The Mets had won 101 games, but became the 1st 100-or-more-wins team to fail to reach the Division Series, in either League, since that level of the Playoffs was implemented in 1995.

To make matters even more embarrassing: In the 6th inning, Met manager Buck Showalter -- who had previously failed in the Playoffs with the New York Yankees, the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Baltimore Orioles, now in his 7th postseason series, of which he has won only 1 and never won a Pennant -- asked the umpires to check behind Musgrove's ears, for a foreign substance that Showalter thought he was using to "doctor" the baseball. The umps checked. They found nothing illegal. All that did was piss Musgrove off, and make him throw harder. 

From April 7 to September 20, the Mets went 95-55, a 103-59 pace. From September 21 to October 5, they went 6-6, an 81-81 pace. Including the Playoffs: From September 21 to October 9, they went 7-8, a 76-86 pace. In the 6 biggest games they had in this season, 3 at home to the Atlanta Braves to decide the National League Eastern Division title, and 3 at home to the San Diego Padres in the NL Wild Card Series, they went 1-5.

Given hype divided by results, and the fact that cheating was not discovered (thus setting aside the Yankees' 2004-present struggles against the Boston Red Sox and their 2015-present struggles against the Houston Astros), this was the most embarrassing performance in New York baseball since the Mets blew the 1988 National League Championship Series against an apparently inferior Los Angeles Dodgers team.

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October 9, 2022 was a Sunday. The other NL Wild Card Series had wrapped up the day before, with the Philadelphia Phillies eliminating the St. Louis Cardinals. The American League Wild Card Series had also wrapped up the day before, with the Cleveland Guardians eliminating the Tampa Bay Rays, and the Seattle Mariners eliminating the Toronto Blue Jays.

The NHL season started 2 days later; the NBA season, 7 days after that. These NFL games were played that day:

* The New York Giants beat the Green Bay Packers, 27-22 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. The G-Men had trailed by as much as 17-3, but came back.

* The New York Jets beat the Miami Dolphins, 40-17 at MetLife Stadium in the Meadowlands. It may have been the most satisfying Jet win since the 2010-11 Playoffs.

* The New England Patriots beat the Detroit Lions, 29-0 at Gillette Stadium in the Boston suburb of Foxborough, Massachusetts.

* The Baltimore Ravens beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 19-17 at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. Justin Tucker won it with a 43-yard field goal on the last play.

* The Tennessee Titans beat the Washington Commanders, 21-17 at FedEx Field (now Northwest Stadium) in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland.

* The San Francisco 49ers beat the Carolina Panthers, 37-15 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.

* The Houston Texans beat the Jacksonville Jaguars, 13-6 at TIAA Bank Field (now EverBank Stadium) in Jacksonville.

* The Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Atlanta Falcons, 21-15 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. This game featured a sack of Tom Brady, a completely legal play for any honest person that saw the instant replay, that was stupidly ruled "roughing the passer." As Michael Wilbon said on ESPN's Pardon the Interruption the next day, "Brother can't touch Tom Brady!"

* The New Orleans Saints beat the Seattle Seahawks, 39-32 at the Superdome in New Orleans.

* The Buffalo Bills beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 38-3 at Highmark Stadium in the Buffalo suburb of Orchard Park, New York.

* The Los Angeles Chargers beat the Cleveland Browns, 30-28 at FirstEnergy Stadium (now named Huntington Bank Field) in Cleveland.

* The Minnesota Vikings beat the Chicago Bears, 29-22 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

* The Indianapolis Colts beat the Denver Broncos, 12-9 at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver. It was a game of field goals, won by Chase McLaughlin with a 48-yarder with 5:50 left in overtime.

* The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Arizona Cardinals, 20-17 at State Farm Stadium in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona. Cameron Dicker won it with a 23-yard field goal with 1:45 left.

* The Dallas Cowboys beat the Los Angeles Rams, 22-10 at SoFi Stadium outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California.

* And the next night, on Monday Night Football, the Kansas City Chiefs beat their arch-rivals, the Las Vegas Raiders, 30-29 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.