Some baseball fans favor a strike - if it helps the little guys

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Posted 7:43AM on Monday, August 26, 2002

SAN DIEGO - Few San Diego Padres fans get to the ballpark earlier than Frank and Barbara Glenski, who pull into a prime parking spot and spend several hours waving to fans and players from lawnchairs near their "Padres Baseball is Life" sign. But as much as they'd miss their beloved team, they favor the players going on strike if it makes baseball more competitive. "Absolutely! "It's not fun watching the same teams year after year, because they can buy all their players," said Barbara Glenski, 76, referring to the postseason that always seems to include big spenders like the New York Yankees and Atlanta Braves. Across the nation, many fans feel the same way, especially in cities where getting to the World Series seems like a pipe dream. Just four years ago, the Padres beat the Braves for the NL pennant. But it was quickly back to reality for the so-called small-market team without a huge local TV contract or other revenue to keep up with the richer teams. Within weeks of being swept by the dreaded Yankees in the 1998 World Series, the Padres began dumping their well-paid stars. San Diego has kept its payroll in the $40 million range and hasn't had a winning season since. Entering Sunday, they were 27 games behind the defending World Series champions, the Arizona Diamondbacks, who are outspending the Padres by $60 million on salaries. The story sounds familiar to fans in Milwaukee. "You take the Brewers. They can't afford the expensive players that some of the other teams can," said Floyd Hunter, 69. "If a strike helps them, that's great, but I don't see it happening." Not all small-market teams are hurting. The Minnesota Twins got a court order to stave off contraction and, with a modest opening-day payroll of $40 million, were leading the AL Central by 17 games entering Sunday. Still, Twins fan Tim Boelter, of Algonquin, Ill., is nervous. "They're on the bubble right now," Boelter said before a recent Twins-White Sox game at Comiskey Park. "I'd be unhappy if they don't make it. And if it is because of big-money teams driving out small-market teams, I would hope that they come up with a way so small-market teams can compete, like it is in football." Boelter isn't optimistic that will happen. "I think money will win. I think the big-money teams won't give up what they've got."