But instead of playing, the ballplayers and coaches, mostly from Class AA and AAA clubs, have been splashing through London aboard sightseeing tours. "The rain really hasn't inconvenienced our schedule, except for the baseball part," said Bud Harrelson, who is here as honorary captain of the Mets' squad.

Between 3,000 and 4,000 fans, many of them Americans who live in London, have paid up to $30 each for advance seats to the games. Several hundred more showed up at the ticket windows early today, only to learn the game had been called off.

Last in line behind the National Football League, the National Hockey League and the National Basketball Association in trying to tap into the European market, executives of major league baseball have scheduled an ambitious series of events over the coming year, as part of a strategy to move the game beyond its more established overseas markets in Japan and Latin America.

A batting cage and pitching machine will tour French and German stores over the winter, and major league officials are talking about sending a team of big league players to Britain and other European cities next year.

For Frank Heffron, president and chief executive officer of Major League Baseball International, it's all just good business. "Why do you think the World Cup is coming to the U.S.?" asked Heffron. "Soccer needs the American market just as baseball needs to develop Europe." Hot Dogs and Cracker Jacks