- November 5, 2024
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Flagler Palm Coast’s baseball program will do a marathon for money on Feb. 1.
No, not the run-for-26.2-miles kind of marathon. Instead, the team will try to play baseball for 12 hours — from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Who knows what will happen after that.
The concept of the 12-hour-long intersquad event is to raise money for the upcoming season. The program’s 34 players will be split into two teams.
Each player will be responsible to go out and get a minimum of 10 pledges. They can either get a pledge per four played or a flat donation. So, if they can get a sponsor for $1 per hour and they play 10 hours, then that player will raise $10.
The money will be used for a multitude of things: umpires, uniforms, practice gear, hats, helmets, batting tees, protective screens, transportation and other equipment.
“Because we are self-funded, we are trying to raise funds for the players and come up with a fun concept where they are responsible for raising the money and doing the work, not their parents,” coach Jordan Butler said.
The players will be split into two teams, with the first pitch coming around 8 a.m. They will try to play until 8 p.m., but there are no guarantees.
“We obviously won’t have pitchers that will be able to last 12 hours, especially since our preseason starts that following Monday,” Butler said.
And so, each pitcher will toss two or three innings. When they are out of pitchers, the coaches are going to take the hill and pitch.
When the coaches are cooked, the pitching machine — which has a metal arm, not a rubber arm, and can probably last forever — will finish off the evening.
Butler said the players will be allowed to take breaks and go get lunch or whatever they need, but they will have to sign in and out so they keep track of how many hours they played.
Admission to the game is free whether you want to watch for 30 minutes or all 12 hours.
Anyone looking to donate can do so at the gate. Anyone interested in sponsoring a pledge for a player can email [email protected].
