Garvey’s M.L.B. Teams Are Contenders. His Senate Campaign? Not So Much.

As his old teams — the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres — battle in the playoffs, the onetime all-star Steve Garvey finds himself an underdog in his Senate race against Adam Schiff.

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Steve Garvey, a 10-time all-star and a Republican with no political experience, has trailed his Democratic opponent, Adam Schiff, by an average of 20 points or more. Mr. Garvey’s former teams played each other in the M.L.B. playoffs on Wednesday.

The Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres are headed to a playoff elimination game on Friday, the latest chapter in what has become a fierce rivalry in Southern California.

Far less competitive is the Senate race in the state, which likewise features two opponents from Southern California, though one has a substantial advantage in polls and fund-raising.

Adam Schiff, a Democratic congressman from Burbank, has led by an average of 20 points or more for months over Steve Garvey, a Republican from Palm Desert with no political experience. Still, Mr. Garvey’s candidacy has drawn outsize attention because of his years as a first baseman with the Dodgers and the Padres.

Outside Petco Park in San Diego on Wednesday night, fans of both teams were eager to see Game 4 of the National League division series. Less apparent was how they felt about Mr. Garvey’s candidacy.

David Roberts Jr., 25, a registered Democrat who works for the City of Chula Vista, Calif., was outside the ballpark with his father hours before the start of the game. The son admitted that he had not heard of Mr. Garvey — the politician or the baseball star — who stopped playing more than a decade before Mr. Roberts was born.

ImageDavid Roberts, left, and his son, David Roberts Jr., at Wednesday’s game. Even the elder Mr. Roberts was only a child when he saw Mr. Garvey play in San Diego.Credit…Ariana Drehsler for The New York Times

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