What happens when a Major League Baseball team overlaps in the same city as a US President on official business? They might just cross paths. The MLB's Milwaukee Brewers played a 3-game series against the New York Mets in Queens, New York but were met with presidential traffic in Manhattan Thursday afternoon, leading team members to turn to creative methods to get to the game, according to New York sports media outlets.
While professional athletes spend months training for their season, they may not have been trained to sit in stand-still traffic while crossing paths with President Joe Biden's motorcade in New York City. Traffic became a problem, and the visiting Wisconsin-based team needed to figure out how to get to their game location in time for their 7:10pm start time, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Thursday.
While most problems arise on the diamond and mound, the Milwaukee Brewers had to figure out how to beat traffic and make their way to the Mets' stadium, Citi Field, just 11 miles from Manhattan. So, the team had to "cover their bases" and look for any option to get to their destination.
Though the ride would normally be just around 45 minutes to the park, stand-still traffic caused the team to move just a few blocks in an hour. Since the clock was ticking, team members huddled and decided to take New York City's subway system to make it to their game.
Running the bases throughout New York City
According to their GPS, taking the subway would get the players to the field in just 30 minutes, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. So, some of the players got off at a midtown Manhattan stop before moving over to the 7 line, the subway line known to locals for taking them to Mets games.
Not all players got off for their subway journey - some chose to stay on the bus, arriving more than 30 minutes after those who took public transportation.
Others got off and took an Uber ride; which ultimately ended up being a ride of more than two hours, according to the publication.
Moral of the story: practice is crucial, but always be ready for a new game plan when necessary!