If you love crowds after the game when you’re trying to get home, or use any other line than the Orange, Silver, or Blue lines to get into the game via the DC metro, then don’t read any further.
Unfortunately for those who don’t like crowds, there is a large percentage of people that metro into DC from the Northern Virginia area. While getting into the Nationals Park can provide a stuffy environment, blame can be placed on tardiness or not going to batting practice; the metro does pop up a block away from the stadium.
There is a well hidden DC metro secret that can prevent this mandatorily swampy, stuffy condition on the way home after a Curly “W.” The secret: find the nearest stairwell post game and walk to the Capital South Metro Station.
Majority of the crowd uses the centerfield gate to get to and from the metro, and while it might be one of the biggest entrance/exits in sports, it will still clog up and slow down. Using the stairs to put you outside the ballpark will immediately put you paces ahead of the crowd.
After that the 10-20 minute walk, depending on how fast, will put you on an empty metro car if you’re going east on the Orange or Blue line. If you’re going west, into the state of Virginia, if the car isn’t empty, you’ll be sitting down on the train while your fair-weather seventh inning leaving fans are standing up.
Why this works: The green line train is the only train that goes to the ballpark, or the only one that runs through the Navy Yard Metro Station. In order to get people out of the Metro Station more efficiently post-game, the metro waits for 5-15 minutes for it to fill up before leaving the station. It then takes another 5 to get to L’Enfant Plaza Metro Station (through Waterfront), and then, with all of the foot traffic, it can take another few minutes to get from the Green train to the Orange (or Blue) train down below at this transfer point. This time adds up. If you’re able to walk to the Capital South Station in 15 minutes, and get there as a train is arriving, then that train will be through L’Enfant before the crowd even gets there.
Again, in the worst case scenario, you’ll have to wait for a train after a brisk walk, but you’ve started to burn off that beer, and you don’t have to wait in a thick crowd of people. More importantly, there are picturesque views of the Capital Building and Washington Monument on the walk, as well as restaurants if plans change.