Judging by the streams of fans flowing out of Oriole Park at Camden Yards, you'd swear the game had ended. The driving rains sent even the most loyal Orioles' supporters running to the shelter of their cars, or the cover of the nearest bar. But beneath her broken-down umbrella, Bernadette Scudder stood, waiting and wondering if the umps would ever call this game. She can't tell you the name of a player, the outcome of a single game or the Orioles' standing in their division, but no matter how late the hour, Scudder would see this, and every home game, through to its end.

None of the fleeing fans seemed to notice Scudder or any of the other 118 workers jockeying for the dry piece of concrete beneath the Gate F overhang. It is here, toward the end of every night game at Camden Yards, where the field lights cast a shadow upon the workers who will soon help the stadium regain its shine.