Mets send umps to do a lengthy check of Joe Musgrove’s ears
Joe Musgrove had his way with the Mets in the final game of the NL Wild Card series. After shutting out the Amazin’s through five innings while allowing just one hit, Buck Showalter sent the umpire crew out to check Musgrove for any foreign substances.
The umpires checked Musgrove’s hat, belt, hands and went to town on his ears. While the 29-year-old’s ears did appear a bit shiny, the thorough check — and borderline wet willie — did not lead to Musgrove being removed from the game.
Despite the umpire finding no wrongdoings, the packed Citi Field showered Musgrove with chants that only the Houston Astros — fitting as Musgrove was a part of the 2017 World Series champions — are familiar with.
“Cheater! Cheater! Cheater!”
While the Mets appeared to be on the brink of elimination, Showalter pulled out all the stops to get Musgrove off of his game. It didn’t appear to work much as the Padres’ starter proceeded to retire the side in order immediately following the thorough inspection. Musgrove gestured to the Mets dugout after Brandon Nimmo flew out to the warning track to end the sixth.
Perhaps Showalter was relying on the date when he sent the umpires out to check on Bob Melvin’s pitcher. Musgrove’s spin rates were up relative to his season average on every single pitch.
Prior to the check, Musgrove’s fastball, cutter, curveball, slider and change up were up by at least 104 RPM — his slider was up by 230 RPM, according to Baseball Savant. Generally, when metrics change this drastically, there are foreign substances involved.
While it’s difficult to be entirely sure if Musgrove was relying on foreign substances, one thing is clear, there was nothing on his ear at the time of the thorough check.
