What's with the giant Frazee Paint can in left field?

Another reason I enjoy the Home Opener is you get to see the changes in the ballpark for the first time. From our seats high above right field we saw a giant Frazee Paint Can far off in the distance. We wondered what was in store for fans if a Padres player hit a home run into the can.

I theorized that all fans would be able to take a can of paint into their local Frazee store and have it mixed for free. Jon told me they already do that for free. Well maybe they'll give you a free wooden paint stirrer, I suggested. Jon assured me that you get those for free as well. What more could fans possibly want then?

The Padres must have realized the same thing, because the fans don't get anything. Instead Frazee Paint will donate $500,000 to The Padres Foundation, a fund of The San Diego Foundation non-profit, or to the player's charity of choice.

I was trying to find a spray chart from 2010 to figure out how many Padres players could hit a ball in that general vicinity now that Adrian Gonzalez is gone. I couldn't find the chart and became frustrated, but I think there are only a few balls hit above the second deck of the Western Metal Supply building each year. So it likely won't happen. In that case, Frazee will donate $20,000 dollars to the Padres Foundation.

Frazee Paint Challenges The San Diego Padres to Hit a Home Run Worth Half a Million Dollars

The oversized Frazee Paint can has been positioned in PETCO Park's home run territory, located in the left field grandstand balcony adjacent to the Western Metal Supply building. It resides 376 feet from home plate and sits approximately 31 feet from the ground. The actual height of the can itself is 10' in the back and 9' in the front, creating a more convenient angle for the player at bat. The mouth of the can measures 8.5' in diameter.

For no particular reason, let's find out how many gallons of paint could fit inside this monstrosity. To find the volume of a cylinder we use the formula:

V = πr²h

We'll ignore the fact that the back of the can is 10 feet high since you couldn't fill it beyond it's 9 foot face.

510.45 = 3.14 x 4.25² x 9

Now we convert our 510.45 cubic feet to gallons knowing that 1 Cubic Foot = 7.48051948 Gallons [US, Fluid]

510.45 x 7.48051948 = 3818.431168566

So that big Frazee Paint can in left field holds 3818.43 gallons. See math can be fun. Somebody check to see if I did that correctly.

Now, how many baseballs will fit in that can? That seems too hard to figure out. Wouldn't be too hard to approximate the answer though.

UPDATE:

Gaslamp Baller EnglishChris calculated that 54,930 baseballs would fit inside the can.