Quake Interrupts Series

SAN FRANCISCO--At first, sitting in the dugout at Candlestick Park, Tony La Russa thought the fans were just stamping their feet. In an instant, he realized it was an earthquake, and the first-ever Bay area World Series became secondary.

About 30 minutes before Game 3 was to be played last night, the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland Athletics were gathered on the field playing catch when they felt something.

"I heard (Giants batting coach) Dusty Baker yell 'Earthquake!'" San Francisco catcher Terry Kennedy said. "I thought he was kidding and just trying to keep things loose."

Kennedy soon found out the earthquake was for real.

It measured 6.9 on the Richter Scale, cracking portions of crowded Candlestick Park.

"I knew something was wrong when I saw the first base dugout moving," Kennedy said. "My first thought was to look for my wife in the stands."

The catcher said the immediate reaction by players from both teams was nervous laughter and remarks. But the seriousness of the situation became clear when the field started to rumble.

"We found out where the priorities of life are," Kennedy said. "The World Series doesn't mean anything compared to what happened in this city tonight. People were hurt and people lost their homes, it makes me feel sick." There was no immediate decision when or where the Series, with Oakland leading two games to none, would resume.

Baseball commissioner Fay Vincent said there were cracks in the stadium and the extent of damage would not be known until later in the night. No major injuries were reported.

One possibility was that the series would be moved back to Oakland, where the A's won the first two games Saturday and Sunday.

A section in the upper stands in right field separated by about six inches, and several cracks ran down the concrete aisle and broke off. Fans were carrying them home as souvenirs.

"You can't stop concrete," Oakland outfielder Dave Henderson said, "Forget the World Series."