Some Diehard Fans Lose Sleep Over the Padres’ Late Surge

If you think the wave is ridiculous during baseball games, you should have seen it at 1:26 Friday morning.

And that was just 15 minutes after Padre owner Joan Kroc was serving orange juice to these Padre fans in the San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium parking lot.

Actually, things had calmed down by that point. A half-hour earlier, Academy Award winner Mercedes McCambridge (1949, best supporting actress, All the King’s Men), a friend of Kroc’s, was on a temporary stage in the parking lot. She took the microphone and talked about Pat Dobson, the Padre pitching coach.

“When he walks out to the mound, he’s got the sexiest walk,” said McCambridge, 71.

It all started Thursday morning when a local radio station received a call suggesting that there should be a welcoming ceremony for the Padres’ return from Houston. With the Padres in second place, six games behind San Francisco, pennant fever was creeping into town.

The Padres lost Thursday night, dropping them seven games behind the Giants, but that didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of some of the faithful. By the time two buses carrying the team rolled into the stadium parking lot at 1:50 a.m., a crowd of about 1,500--according to San Diego police--was waiting, kept alert by free coffee, orange juice and pastries Kroc got McDonald’s to furnish. There were hand-made Padre signs, taped highlights of recent victories and music.

“I think it’s wonderful,” Kroc said. “Baseball is supposed to be fun, and we’re having fun. These are the kinds of things that both excite and incite.”

Kroc, McCambridge and several others were ushered onto the stage and interviewed while a small band played in the background.

Then some guy named Glenn, dragging a guitar, was invited to sing a song he had written that day: “Let’s Hope the Giants Choke.” Sample lyrics:

“All we gotta do is win a lot and hope the Giants choke;

Strike out a lot and miss those tags ; Come on Giants, gag.

Thankfully, the Padres finally arrived. They had lost in Houston, and it felt as it were about 4 a.m. for them. But a handful of players nevertheless took the stage to address the crowd, as did Manager Jack McKeon, President Dick Freeman and broadcaster Jerry Coleman.

“We really appreciate all the fans coming out tonight,” Tony Gwynn said. “We thank you for your support. It’s not over yet. Hopefully, starting tomorrow night, we can put together a few more wins and get back in it.”