Could you watch 17 baseball games in a 56 hour span in the heat of the August sun? That is the challenge at the NBC World Series in Wichita, Kansas called Baseball ‘Round the Clock.
If you are not familiar with the NBC World Series, you should be. It is the culmination of some of the best collegiate leagues and tournaments around the country. The 32-team tournament runs for 2 weeks every year in Wichita.
Each year they have a span of 17 games over 56-hours and hundreds of fans sign up for the ‘survivor’ like atmosphere. Once a game a signal will sound and a check-in place announced where the contestants have to go to prove they are still there. You can leave the park, and many do for food and drinks from the car since they are not allowed to bring it in, but you run the risk of missing a check-in.
Prizes are given away for those who endure, but they also get to see some of the future stars of the game. Players in the past have included the likes of Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Lance Berkman, Jeff Francis, Albert Pujols and so many more. But most do it for the challenge and socializing with the other contestants.
It’s a grueling contest where many of the contestants will sleep in tents set up across the parking lot of the stadium in order not to miss the early check-in each morning. It all kicks off on a Friday at 5pm and ends after the 10pm game is over on Sunday night. In between there are 17 games from some of the finest college and amateur talent in the country. This start times of this year’s schedule looks like this:
Friday August 3rd – 5pm, 7:30pm, 10pm, and 12:30 pm
Saturday August 4th – 8am, 10:30am, 1pm, 5pm, 7:30pm, 10pm, and 12:30pm
Sunday August 5th - 8am, 10:30am, 1pm, 5pm, 7:30pm, and 10pm
I’d love to try this one year. What about you?
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This post was written by
Eric Bynum is Managing Editor here at Baseball de World and an ESL teacher in South Korea. He has played and/or written about baseball for the past 30 years and is an avid Atlanta Braves fan. Eric also writes for Braves Baseball World and for Call to the Pen.
