It’s not hard to figure out why Myrtle Beach is recognized as Sportstown, USA by “Sports Illustrated.” Any town that can jam pack a marathon, three bike races and a college baseball tournament into one weekend has certainly earned the title of Sportstown, USA.
Friday, February 18, 2005, is the beginning of one of the busiest weekends in Myrtle Beach. Coastal Federal Field, the home of the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, will be the epicenter for all of the activity during the 8th annual Myrtle Beach marathon weekend. The marathon races and the bike races will begin and end at Coastal Federal Field. The annual college baseball showcase, “Baseball at the Beach,” will feature five games played by baseball hopefuls from Coastal Carolina, Clemson, East Carolina and West Virginia, on the field where the future of the Atlanta Braves play ball throughout the summer. As an official sponsor of the marathon as well as the proud title sponsor of the three bike races the Pelicans will be very busy. In addition to the sponsorship of the races, the Pelicans will also be releasing individual tickets to the public for the 2005 baseball season on Friday at 10 a.m. It’s a huge weekend for the Myrtle Beach community and a huge weekend for the Pelicans as well!
Approximately 60 miles will be spanned throughout the marathons and the bike races over the weekend. Since the Pelicans baseball season is just around the corner and the team will be very involved in the marathon weekend, we decided to take a look at just how long 60 miles really is from a baseball perspective.
60 Miles through a baseball mind equals…..
- 2,262 trips Dinger “The Homerun Dog” would have to make to the umps with a basket full of fresh baseballs.
- 115,000 baseball bats laid end to end (based on the length of the average Pelicans baseball bat)
- 240 times around the warning track
- 792 trips from home plate to the centerfield wall
- 5,280 pitches tossed from the mound to home plate
- 3,516 singles
- 1,758 doubles
- 1,170 triples
- 876 Homeruns
- 876 Grand Slams
- 475,200 Zweigles (the official dog of the Pelicans) hot dogs laid bun to bun
- 633,600 stacks of Pelicans media game notes
- 1 road trip for the Salem Avalanche and the Lynchburg Hillcats to play each other. Both are Pelicans Carolina League opponents.
- 691,200 uncut Pelicans tickets
- 72 trips from Coastal Federal Field to the beach
What a unique schedule of activities for one town to hold over a few days. With all of the jogging, biking and baseball massive amounts of calories will be burnt during the marathon weekend. The weekend of athleticism and sportsmanship simply solidifies the fact that this town is sports hungry.
Thanks to MBBC’s Ryan Ibbotson for this capcom story.
