Brewers players took subway to Mets game due to presidential motorcade delay

Sep 11, 2021; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Corbin Burnes (39) walks off the mound in the third inning against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

Some Milwaukee Brewers had to take emergency measures to get to Thursday’s game in New York on time thanks to an odd series of events.

The Brewers’ team bus got held up in traffic ahead of their game against the Mets. New York traffic can be rough at the best of times, but President Joe Biden visited the city on Thursday, and his motorcade slowed things to a complete stop.

Brewers players said it took them 50 minutes to travel six blocks, and some were getting concerned that they would not reach the ballpark on time. Relief pitcher Hoby Milner made a check of his phone and decided it would be faster to take the subway.

“I was sitting there and we hadn’t moved in like 15 minutes,” pitcher Corbin Burnes said, via Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “I turned around and was like, We’re going to have to take the damn train.”

Milner noted how much faster the subway would be, and he and several teammates abandoned the bus and went for it.

“I was like, all right, I don’t think we’re going to make it anytime soon,” Milner said. “Siri said 50 minutes and that was if we started moving, so I checked how fast the subway would be. And it said, like, 32 minutes.”

The group of players, which included Milner, Burnes, and that night’s starting pitcher Adrian Houser, made their way to the 7 train and reached Citi Field in a half hour. They wound up beating the bus to the stadium by over a half hour, though everyone ultimately arrived in time for the game.

Athletes have taken the subway before, but rarely out of actual necessity. To make things even better, the Brewers wound up beating the Mets 3-2. Maybe they’ll have to take the train more often.