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Before Game 1 Win, Phillies Ace Took <em>Subway</em> To Stadium
By
Jen Chung
Published Oct 30, 2009
Modified Oct 30, 2009
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By
Jen Chung
Published Oct 30, 2009
Modified Oct 30, 2009
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Okay, fine—this story makes us feel a little more guilty for complaining about the subway's seemingly slower service (seriously, what's been going on?): Before Phillies pitcher Cliff Lee dominated the Yankees during Game 1 of the World Series, he took the subway to Yankee Stadium because traffic from Manhattan to the Bronx was terrible.
According to Fox Sports, Lee took a cab from from midtown Manhattan at 4:45 p.m. After an hour stuck in traffic, and the cab driver's ominous prediction it would take another two hours to get the stadium, Lee had to make a decision:
Lee recalled, "That guy had me panicking."
Lee called his agent, Darek Braunecker, who advised him to leave the cab, find a policeman and ask for help getting to the stadium. The Phillies' traveling secretary, Frank Coppenbarger, told Lee to do the same thing.
Lee instead told the driver to take him to the nearest subway. He got out at W. 119th St., Coppenbarger said. Lee did not know where he entered the subway or which line he took, but said his trip required him to change trains.
We're going to guess he took a C and then transferred to the B—it would have been easy to know when to transfer, just follow the sea of people in Yankees shirts. Once Lee got there at 6:20 p.m., he called for someone to take him into the stadium. Fox Sports adds that no one recognized Lee during his commute up to the stadium, but after that game, we bet they would now.
Update: Two commenters pointed out that Lee is no stranger to taking the subway to the game, since he was spotted on a 4 train last year.
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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