San Diego Padres tickets

THIS BALLPARK used to be called Jack Murphy Stadium, named after a well-respected journalist who was instrumental in bringing Major League Baseball to San Diego. Referred to affectionately by locals as the Murph, it fell victim to the nineties trend of stadium naming rights. The name change, awkward though it may sound, is not as objectionable as another trend: enlarging what is already a multipurpose stadium. This ballpark was never an ideal baseball facility, with a huge scoreboard in right center field more suited for football, and with seats positioned at odd angles in many sec¬tions, reinforcing the off-center feeling.

The additional sections, built for the 1998 season, were erected on both sides of the scoreboard, enclosing the park and eliminating the view of the rolling hills and trees beyond. Luckily this did not change the climate here, which is among the most beautiful in the country. In fact, some people specu¬late that this languid atmosphere and laid-back lifestyle contribute to players losing some competitive edge. Since the Padres have won only two pennants in their thirty-plus years of existence, this theory may have merit.

The leisurely aura here stands in contrast to the longtime presence of Padre superstar Tony Gwynn. In an era of free agency and constant player movement, Gwynn has turned down more money to remain in San Diego. A fixture here since 1982, he goes about his business on the field with visible concentration and determination-a certain first-ballot Hall of Famer.

In November 1998, San Diego voters approved financing for a baseball-only ballpark. This new facility, to be built downtown, should continue the positive trend of old-looking new ball-parks like Camden Yards and Jacobs Field, which are integrated into the community and are large enough to be comfortable but small enough to enhance the experience.

MARK WOHLERS "When I first got called up, we were in San Diego. I think when I got to the major leagues, it was more meaningful because I knew I'd have a chance to perform on it, and I just realized how much bigger it is when you're in the stadium than when you're outside or watching it on TV."

TODD PRATT "It's peaceful, palm trees are nice in back of the fence. Seems like its great weather ever time I get in there.

JOSE VIZCAINO "September 10, 1989, San Diego, Jack Murphy Stadium-it was a dream come true: It was my first time in the big leagues."

ROBERTO ALOMAR "My first game was sup-posed to be in Los Angeles. It got postponed. When I went to Jack Murphy Stadium, that's where I started playing my first game.... It's amazing how different it is from the minor leagues to the big leagues. When you go into a big-league stadium, you look up, you see a lot of people, big stadium, nice fields, big score-board. Things you don't see in the minor leagues."

TOM PAGNOZZI "The first time I ever walked into a major-league stadium, I was probably eight or nine years old, in San Diego. The Padres. Growing up in Tucson, Arizona, we always vacationed in southern California. Every summer, Disneyland, do all that stuff, catch a ball game. And my dad was a Cubs fan. The first game I ever went to was a Padres-Cubs game in San Diego. You walked into it-from playing on the Little League field to that, I mean, you just could not imagine what it looked like. It looked like . . . a bunch of gold bars stacked up, it was just unbelievable. The grass was manicured. The infield, there was no bad hop. The batter's box was perfect. The grass looked like it just got cut in a different weave. It was incredi¬ble, absolutely incredible."