Padres Win; Gwynn Closes In on Clark

It’s that time of year again. The whiskers are growing in the Padre clubhouse, and Tony Gwynn is trying to win a batting title.

Several players are starting their winter beards--the Padres have a no-beard rule during the season--and are ready to scatter on vacation after this afternoon’s season finale.

Gwynn, meanwhile, is preparing for a few more at bats today in his bid to become the first National Leaguer to win three consecutive batting titles since Stan Musial (1950-1952).

Gwynn went three for four in Saturday night’s 11-5 Padre victory over San Francisco, improving his average to .3333.

The Giants’ Will Clark got one hit in four at-bats and stands at .3339. Clark is attempting to become the first Giant to win a batting title since Willie Mays hit .345 for the New York Giants in 1954.

A Fan Appreciation night crowd of 45,902 cheered each of Gwynn’s plate appearances and booed each of Clark’s.

It was a big night for Gwynn, who trailed Clark by three points entering the game, .334 to .331. But Gwynn got hits in each of his first three at bats--two singles and a double.

He received a standing ovation after his third hit, the double in the fifth. At that point, Gwynn trailed Clark, .334 to .3339.

“I knew I’d have to hit like this just to have a legitimate shot,” Gwynn said. “Our pitchers did a good job on Will, and going three for four, that puts me in a position to win it. That’s all I can ask for.”

And so the batting race, which came down to this weekend, now comes down to today.

“I’d rather have it this way,” Gwynn said. “Head to head. One guy gets a hit, you see first hand what’s happening.”

Clark disagreed.

“I’d prefer it not to be this way,” Clark said. “The reason is that there are 4,500 questions about this every day. It’s getting distracting.

“If you look at it overall, you’ve still got to go out and play the game. It’s not a two-man batting show. You have to go out there and win.”

Yeah, victories are nice. But the Giants have won the division and will open the NL playoffs Tuesday in Chicago. The Padres have clinched second place.

So you can bet that each man will be out there trying to win a batting title today.

“Yep, that’s about all that’s left,” Clark said. “Whoever gets the most hits wins.”

Said Gwynn: “If we came down to this weekend needing to win games, I’d do whatever I needed to do to do that. Now, I can do whatever I want to. If it’s three and oh, I think they’d let me swing.

“Last year when I won it, we were out of the division race. I was more free with what they let me do. They didn’t ask me to move runners over and sacrifice--they let me swing the bat.”

Gwynn said Padre Manager Jack McKeon has given him the go-ahead to do whatever he needs. Which won’t be much different than normal, Gwynn said.

“For me, it’s better to do the usual,” Gwynn said. “If I get too anxious, I usually just make an out and end up talking to myself. But I know I’m not going to get the title by walking. So I’m trying to work the count and get three hits.”

But there’s a flip side. While Gwynn has freedom, he also is finding it a bit more difficult to concentrate now that the Padres have been eliminated.

“It was tough last night,” Gwynn said of Friday loss to the Giants. “I’m not going to lie. Coming to the ballpark yesterday was tough.

“In a pennant race, every out is important. Then, when you’re out of it, every out isn’t important anymore. It was tough at first, but when I got in the batter’s box, I was able to lock in without too many problems.”

And while your concentration level drops, your consciousness is raised--you become more conscious of long games and nagging injuries. Gwynn has been bothered for a long time by his Achilles heel, while Clark missed four games a week-and-a-half ago with a deep bone bruise in his left shin.

Clark is playing in pain for two reasons. First, he doesn’t want to back into the batting title. And he is getting himself ready for the Cubs next week.

“I need to get my swing back and my concentration level up,” Clark said. “Whether we’re up 12 (games) or down 12, my job is to play. I didn’t get to this point by sitting out injuries.”

So, with the batting title there for the taking today, Clark said he will keep his philosophy simple.

“Try to get up there and hit the ball as hard as possible,” he said. “Exactly what I’ve done for my other 600-and-some (actually 584) at-bats this year.”

Aside from the batting race, the Padres had a couple of noteworthy performances Saturday night as McKeon played several youngsters for the second night in a row:

--Catcher Sandy Alomar Jr. and first baseman Phil Stephenson each hit their first major league home runs. Alomar’s, a three-run homer, came in the fourth. Stephenson’s, with the bases empty, led off the second.

Alomar was one for four and Stephenson three for four.

--Outfielder Jerald Clark was one for five, but his hit was a big one. He doubled two runs home in the Padres’ four-run fifth.

--Shortstop Joey Cora got two hits, finishing the evening two for four.

--Mark Grant, pitching in relief of Eric Nolte, allowed just three hits and one run in five innings. He struck out six.

Nolte didn’t fare well. He lasted just four innings, allowing six hits and four runs (three earned). He walked three, struck out two and threw two wild pitches.

Padre Notes

Tim Flannery was honored during pregame ceremonies on his first day as a retired baseball player. It was declared “Tim Flannery Day” by the San Diego City Council. Flannery’s children, Daniel, 4, and Virginia Lynn, 2, were each given $25,000 college scholarship funds by the Padres. Flannery was given a surfboard by a local radio station, a guitar from the television station for which he will work and a plaque from the San Diego Hall of Champions, where he will be an honorary lifetime member. Flannery’s mother and father, his wife, Donna, and their two children stood near home plate with him throughout the ceremony. The program concluded with a video tribute to Flannery on the Diamond Vision scoreboard, accompanied by Bob Seger’s “Like A Rock.” Flannery and his wife were then greeted in front of the Padre dugout as they left the field, receiving handshakes and hugs from players, coaches and Manager Jack McKeon during a three-minute standing ovation . . . Things weren’t so sentimental before the game in the clubhouse, where several players used the occasion to get off some final zingers at Flannery’s expense. “Whoooo my God, he’s got socks on,” Tony Gwynn shrieked when Flannery entered the clubhouse.

McKeon said all of the Padre coaches have been invited back for next season. . . . The Padres closed the clubhouse for a few minutes before the game during a rare visit from club President Dick Freeman, who wanted to thank the team for a good season. . . . Gwynn has had a chance to read a manuscript of George Will’s baseball book, scheduled for release before the start of next season, and Gwynn gave it a good review. “It’s good reading,” Gwynn said. “It really is. I got caught up in it.” Will wrote the book in four sections: hitting, fielding, pitching and managing. Gwynn was the featured batter. The only problem Gwynn found was that Will misspelled the name of Gwynn’s daughter, Anisha Nicole. . . . Greg Harris (7-9) is scheduled to oppose Kelly Downs (4-7) in today’s season finale at 1:05 p.m.