Former Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Mark Lowe and three minor-league teammates could have had a nice, quick flight from Phoenix to Albuquerque, N.M., for their next game. Instead, they had to resort to Plan B: a seven-hour Uber drive.
According to a post from Lowe’s Instagram account, which was linked to a tweet from triple-A Tacoma Rainiers designated hitter D.J. Peterson, the players had to make new travel plans after enduring problems with their American Airlines flight.
So, Lowe, Peterson, first baseman Daniel Vogelbach and pitcher Pat Light called on an Uber driver to take them to take them roughly 700 kilometres, a journey that began just before 3 a.m. on Monday and cost $683.52 (US).
The Seattle Mariners-affiliated Rainiers lost 6-5 to the Albuquerque Isotopes with the travel-weary group. Vogelbach went 1-for-4 with a double, while Peterson was hitless in three at-bats. Lowe and Light didn’t pitch.
Lowe, 34, spent the second half of the 2015 season with the Blue Jays after being acquired from the Mariners before the trade deadline. He went 1-2 with a 3.79 ERA, 0.842 WHIP, 14 strikeouts and one walk in 19 innings with Toronto before appearing in the post-season.
Lowe then signed a two-year, $11-million deal with the Detroit Tigers, but struggled last season and was released. He signed a minor-league deal with the Mariners during spring training.
[relatedlinks]