Midges aren't well known to Americans, except to baseball fans:
In all his years as New York's catcher, Jorge Posada has made thousands of trips to the mound.
This was his first holding a can of bug repellant.
Posada's fogging of Yankees closer Mariano Rivera was one of many bizarre sights during an AL playoff game against the Cleveland Indians that turned when millions of insects infested Jacobs Field.
"They just came out of nowhere," Posada said.
They helped beat the Yankees.
Tiny flying insects called "midges" bombarded the Bronx Bombers at the worst possible time, covering and rattling rookie reliever Joba Chamberlain, whose two wild pitches in the eighth inning sent the Indians to a 2-1 win in 11 innings.
"It's like somebody let them go," Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter said. "Just when you think you've seen it all - that's home-field advantage."
Midges 1, Yankees 0.
Where was the Sultan of Swat when they needed him?
Travis Hafner hit a bases-loaded, RBI single with two outs in the 11th to score Kenny Lofton as the Indians, who trailed 1-0 before the flying pests invaded in the eighth inning, took a 2-0 series lead with a victory their fans will never forget.
Unreal. Surreal. Hitchcockian. October baseball has rarely witnessed something like this.
At times, it was like watching a low-budget, late-night horror flick: "The Bugs Who Ate The Yankees."
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-bugs-who-ate-the-yankees/That win might have cost the Yankees that postseason series, their manager his job, and the pitcher his career.