Even Padres Amazed at Braves’ Fever : Baseball: Atlanta top Padres, 5-1, as momentum builds for three-game series with Dodgers.

Beach balls bounced in the stands. Paper airplanes flew overhead. And everywhere you turned Thursday night, Atlanta Braves fans were doing the tomahawk arm-pump, the newest craze of the Deep South.

The Padres couldn’t help but stand in the field and gawk. This was no longer a baseball game--one in which the Padres would lose to the Atlanta Braves, 5-1. This was a phenomenon.

Then, it happened. It began briefly in the seventh inning and abruptly stopped. In the ninth, it started up again. This time, never stopped. It built louder . . . louder . . . into a crescendo.

BEAT LA! BEAT LA! BEAT LA!

The moment Padre third baseman Jack Howell ended the game with a grounder to first, the crowd of 27,794 unleashed a raucous scream, pumping their fists and refusing to leave the stadium.

Frankly, my dear, Atlanta has changed.

“It’s hard to believe this is Atlanta,” Padre Manager Greg Riddoch said. “They were screaming all night. My gosh, I remember when no one raised their voice here.

“And did you see were they doing with their hands?”

It’s called the tomahawk. It’s an old Florida State ritual, and considering this is football country, it actually resembles a compact first-down signal.

“It’s different,” Braves starter Charlie Leibrandt said. “Everybody’s tired of the wave. It’s outlived its usefulness. This is the new fad--the tomahawk.

“I think we’ve got it down.”

Leibrandt (15-11) won his sixth consecutive decision Thursday, allowing only five hits in seven innings. The only mistake he made was yielding a leadoff homer to Darrin Jackson. But after the first inning, he never allowed another baserunner to reach second base.

“I think a lot of people expected us to collapse down the stretch,” Leibrandt said. “But if there was any crack in the armor, it would have shown by now.”

If the Braves are wary of the Dodgers, you’d never know it. They realize the Dodgers have 14 World Series veterans and 12 players who’ve been All-Stars. They’re quite aware of their tradition. And, yes, they’ve seen all they can stomach of Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda.

Perhaps this is why a local radio stadium mocks Lasorda each day with Slim-Fast belches.

Silly, sure.

But considering that Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium used to be a ghost town this time of year, the euphoria is a welcome sight.

“You can’t describe the difference,” Braves infielder Jeff Treadway said. “Going into September last year, and the year before, was the worst experience I’ve ever had.”

Said outfielder Lonnie Smith: “I can remember when I used to come here and there were more people on the field that there were in the stands.”

The Braves already have doubled their attendance of a year ago, and, with three guaranteed sellouts against the Dodgers, they’re expected to set a franchise record.

Where else could you find a man who quit his $60,000-a-year job to sell foam-rubber tomahawks . . . and make more money? Where else would a newspaper political columnist write about baseball official scoring? Where else could you find players who actually has shaven tomahawks into their hair? Where else could you find a fan carrying a sign that reads: “Ed Magan Fan Club? “

Magan happens to be the groundskeeper.

“I see this stuff every day,” said John Schuerholz, Braves general manger, “and it’s still hard to believe. This is a town that was so accustomed to losing, and I’m not sure they believe it.

“When I was hired (last October), that was the biggest obstacle, to get these people not to accept losing. One of the first things I did was have an organizational meeting just to change the mind-set. The self-esteem was so low, it was hard to convince them it was going to change.”

Schuerholz, who molded a World Series team in Kansas City, immediately went out and signed four key free agents: third baseman Terry Pendleton, first baseman Sid Bream, reliever Juan Berenguer and shortstop Rafael Belliard.

“They’re for real,” Padre right fielder Tony Gywnn said. “My God, are they ever for real. They’re going to give LA all they can handle, believe me.”

Certainly, they convinced the Padres. The Padres batted .102 in the series, including a no-hitter, and were unable to stop the Braves’ offense. The Braves became the first team in the National League to prevent Bruce Hurst from pitching at least six innings Thursday, knocking him out of the game after he yielded eight hits and five runs in 5 2/3 innings.

Now, the stage is set. The Braves (80-60), who lead the Dodgers by one-half game with 22 to play, have a three-game series beginning today. It’s being billed as the Braves’ biggest series since 1983.

“There’s no one in town that doesn’t believe we’ll do it,” Schuerholz said. “And the best part is that this team is going to grow, and get better and better.

“To tell you the truth, we’re going to be strong for a long, long time.”

Welcome to Atlanta.

“To tell you the truth,” Gwynn said, “I wish we could stay around and watch it ourselves.”