I entered the Dodgers‘ team store the other day and asked me if I could buy some “Beat SD” merchandise. Of course not.
I walked into the San Diego Padres team store on Monday. I didn’t have to ask if I could buy “Beat LA” merchandise.
The “Beat LA” shirt section stared me in the face as soon as I walked into the store. There are no other words on the jersey: nothing about San Diego or the Padres. It’s a rallying cry at Petco Park, but it’s also a civic mission statement.
Above the display of “Beat LA” shirts: more shirts, with this message: “SD > LA”.
Each shirt costs $49. On Tuesday, the Padres host the Dodgers in Game 3 of the National League Division Series. In the hours leading up to the game, a team store employee said, the jerseys would sell out quickly.
“Like takeout,” she said.
The “Beat LA” chants will be heard all night long and they will be deafening. But it’s a testament to the Padres’ uneven and underachieving history that four people connected to the team couldn’t agree when “Beating LA” became a big deal.
“I think it’s more recent,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, who grew up in San Diego County. “I don’t think as a kid watching Tony Gwynn it was a thing.”
Padres broadcaster Tony Gwynn’s son, Tony Gwynn Jr., said, “It was one thing, but we didn’t get a chance to use it much during that time.”
Gwynn Jr. said he remembers the “Beat LA” chants when the Padres beat the Dodgers by one game for the 1996 NL West championship.
“Other than that, it was really Lakers-Celtics-only, as far as I know,” he said.
“I think at that point the Padres hadn’t established themselves enough for fans to feel comfortable enough going that route. Most of the time it was my dad: people came to watch him do his thing against the Dodgers, who he had a lot of success against.
Steve Garvey, one of the Dodgers’ most valuable players, said he remembers “Beat LA” chants when he played for the Padres from 1983 to 1987. Back then, he said , the Dodgers were more of a national attraction like the New York Yankees, less of a true competitive rival.
“For the Padres, it was always a way to get the team and the fans engaged,” Garvey said. “Now this stadium is great. It’s as loud as any place.
San Diego pitcher Joe Musgrove grew up attending Padres games in the 2000s.
“I was one of those kids singing it back then,” Musgrove said. “I don’t think there was as much passion behind it then as there is now, but it was always a rivalry.
“If you’re from San Diego, you should grow up not liking Dodger blue.”
The Padres sold a record 3.3 million tickets This yearen route to their third playoff appearance in five years. The team, born in 1969, never even sold 2.3 million until 1998, when the Padres made their third playoff appearance in three decades.
“When I was a kid, and even after a kid — until I got into pro ball, really — it was all Dodgers, all the way,” Musgrove said. “They beat us for years and years. It was a rivalry at one point, and then it got to the point where it felt like San Diego was just holding on to something that didn’t exist.
When the Padres knocked off the Atlanta Braves in the wild-card round last week and advanced to the NLDS against the Dodgers, the scoreboard at Petco Park lit up with “BEAT LA” before until all the Braves have retired to their clubhouse.
Eric Hosmer, former Padres first baseman tweeted: “Padre fans, honest question. Haven’t we graduated to #BeatLA chants?
San Diego fans love the chants. Baseball is about the fans. The song remains.
But Hosmer poses an interesting thought: When the Padres were terrible, beating LA could make their season. This should no longer be the case.
“I think he’s onto something,” Gwynn Jr. said. “It doesn’t change the fact that the rivalry has gotten hotter because the Padres have gotten better. But, in terms of organization, that’s always the goal, right? Win a World Series?
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“If you want to be mentioned along with the Dodgers, the Phillies, the Yankees, you actually have to win the title.”
Roberts said: “That’s it. That’s what’s great about rivalries. Even in college football, if we beat Ohio State, or if we beat Michigan, or if we beat SC or UCLA, that’s all that matters.
“That shouldn’t be all that matters, should it?” It should be about winning the most matches. But it’s still pretty fun.
Musgrove said there is a purpose behind those two words, and all the decibels that come with them.
“For the last two years, the path to the World Series has been through these guys,” he said. “Until we can start taking the division and running the show as far as the division is determined, we know this is a team we’re going to have to beat consistently.
“We played them a lot better this year. We played them hard in this series. We have a good chance of winning this home game. So we’re excited.
Padres fans will roar Tuesday. The team will distribute rally towels. What struck me as somewhat upsetting, the napkins will not read “Beat LA”.
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This story was originally published in Los Angeles Times.
