Angels, Anaheim Tighten Crowd Control : Incident Results in Limits on Beer Sales and Increase in Security Force

An incident involving Boston Red Sox outfielder Rick Miller and several fans Friday night has resulted in limits on the sale of beer and increases in crowd control and security personnel at Anaheim Stadium.

Officials of the Angels, the City of Anaheim and Szabo Food Service, the stadium’s concessionaire, met Saturday morning and decided to eliminate the sale of 32-ounce beers, to limit the sale of beer to two per customer per purchase and to increase the number of personnel in order to control fan behavior. In addition, the Angels announced that Thermoses will not be allowed inside the stadium. Ice chests, coolers, bottles and cans already were not permitted.

The announcement also reaffirmed the policy of Anaheim police to issue citations with average fines of $150 for fans bringing alcohol into the park, causing disturbances or displaying drunkenness.

“It’s sad that a few rotten apples can tarnish things,” said Kevin Uhlich, manager of stadium operations. “But it’s for the benefit of everyone. It takes an incident like this for it to be pushed into motion.”

In the eighth inning of Friday night’s game, a fight broke out in the first row near the Boston dugout on the first-base line. Miller’s friend, John Baker, 37, of Orange, became involved in a dispute with several fans that resulted in Richard Raulston, an Anaheim police officer, injuring his shoulder. When Raulston attempted to arrest the fans, he was grabbed from behind, and hit his shoulder on a seat, according to Sgt. Frank Van De Weerd of the Anaheim Police.

Miller entered the stands to protect his wife and son, who were sitting with Baker. Raulston was treated for a separated shoulder at Kaiser Foundation Hospital in Anaheim and released, police said, while Baker was treated at the stadium for a cut to the forehead.

Charles Raymond Hewes, 21, Robert Anthony Reza, 25, and Robert P. Algarin, 22, all of Whittier, were arrested after the incident. Hewes and Reza were charged with aggravated assault on a police officer and were being held in the Anaheim jail, with bail set at $25,000. Algarin was charged with interfering with a police officer and was also being held, with bail set at $1,500.

“We feel it’s an isolated incident and we don’t intend to have it happen again,” said Bill Turner, the director of stadium operations for the city. “We have very few people causing problems and we intend to eliminate those problems.”

Angel President Gene Autry apologized Saturday to Red Sox Manager John McNamara for the incident.

Baseball Commissioner Peter Ueberroth was in the stands Friday night. After the game, he discussed the incident with Uhlich and Angel vice president Mike Port. Port declined to comment on the discussion, referring all questions to Uhlich.

The conversation was of a fairly casual nature, Uhlich said.

“To say he’s (Ueberroth) not concerned wouldn’t be the truth,” he said. “But it wasn’t, ‘You better have a meeting,’ or ‘You better do this.’ It was just friendly conversation after the game.

“His concern was that we monitor alcohol (use) as best as we can, not that we implement a specific policy. The commissioner’s concerns are for baseball as a whole and the environment in the ballpark. It’s good that he was here. He’s very concerned with what goes on.”

Fan ejections at the stadium are up 60% from last year, Uhlich said. Most ejections, he said, are alcohol-related.

“Part of it is that they are really trying to crack down,” he said, “and part of it is that the abuse is there. A lot of people are half-tanked before they come to the ballpark. That one beer just puts them over the limit.”

Thirty-two ounce beers, which sell for $3.50, were available at five concession stands at the stadium.

A number of incidents involve fans who buy general-admission tickets, Uhlich said.

“With a $2.50 general-admission ticket, they turn it into a party place,” he said. “They come with their buddies to drink and have a good time.”

Other policies to control fan behavior are under consideration, said John Hays, Angel vice president in charge of marketing. Eliminating the sale of beer has not been considered, but reducing sales in the late innings may be a possibility.