Chicago rightfielder Sammy Sosa, McGwire's companion in the home run chase, won the Roberto Clemente Award for humanitarianism on Wednesday. Sosa, who threw out the first pitch before Game 1, wasn't around to receive the award in person because he was in his native Dominican Republic working on hurricane relief. The award presentation was videotaped in New York and shown on the scoreboard Wednesday. Baseball agent Scott Boras, who is loathed by just about all the owners in baseball for driving up player salaries, represents Kevin Brown and Bernie Williams, who are expected to be the marquee free agents during the off-season. The atmosphere at Qualcomm Stadium has been electric before Games 3 and 4.
Bands play on the concourses.
Tailgaters fill the parking lots. Several schools in the area let students out early on Wednesday and the lots began filling at about 1 p.m. The Padres, much like the Marlins did last season, put on a spectacular highlight show that is accompanied by rousing music. These fans are great. Any team that plays as well as the Yankees did this year, using any criteria, it is absolutely superb.