Major League Outfielders vs. Marathoners
To most people there is a difference between Sammy Sosa and Hailu Negussie….
To others…there is not.
Yes, one is from the Dominican Republic and one is from Ethiopia but that is not what I am talking about. I am also aware that one of them won the 2005 Boston Marathon with a time of 2 hours 25 minutes and 13 seconds… and one of them did not…but that is also not what I am talking about. My point is that I think that everyone can concur that between the two men, there are many many differences…well….”everyone” except Nicole Clark.
The other night Nicole and I are playing softball and we are out in center field and left field respectively.
Nicole turns to me and yells: “Hey, Gina…Did you know that the average Major League Outfielder runs on average about 100,000 miles a year during the season just by running for fly balls and to and from the dugout?”
Me(aka: Gina to Nicole): “Really?”
Silence fills the outfield. 100,000 miles? I ponder that thought as I watch the batter drive a line drive to second. Hold on ….What? Did she say 100,000 MILES?!?! I kick the grass and shake my head in utter confusion. That stat did not make sense.
Me: “Um, Nicole…that sounds a bit high. Are you sure it’s 100,000?”
Nicole: (doing some quick math and looking up at the dark sky) “You know…now that I think about it…it was more like 100 miles a year.”
I break out into hysterics. 100 miles vs 100,000 BIG DIFFERENCE! A fly ball is popped into center field and I am on the ground laughing as I watch Nicole make a sweet catch. Nicole throws it into the rover and looks over at me to see me on the grass.
I yell to Nicole:”100,000 miles!?!?! Like almost 1000 miles a game!!!”
Nicole: “SHUT UP, GINA!!!!”
Nicole runs over and charges me. I quickly bolt away.
Me: “100,000!!! HAHAHAHA!”
Nicole (in a laughter fit as well) “I didn’t realize what I said! SHUT UP!!!”
Me: “Marathoners couldn’t run that much!”
Nicole and I cannot control ourselves as the inning continues. Laughter from the outfield fills the infield and nobody knows what is going on. I just personally couldn’t get out of my mind the thought of Hailu Negussie running around the outfield non-stop all year and still not hitting that 100,000 mile mark.
If you really think about it and do the legit math – one would find that with 162 regular season games…give or take a few playoff games…an outfielder would have to run about 600-700 miles a game to get to that level.
Good luck with that, Sammy.