Big A Works Hard to Keep the Tipsy From Tussling : Other Ballparks Come Up With Varying Techniques to Keep Spectators Orderly

Fan violence has never been a trademark of the 21-year-old Anaheim Stadium, rated the best baseball park in both the American and National leagues in a magazine poll of sportswriters.

On a scale of one to 10, Anaheim Stadium earned high marks in the Sport Magazine poll for upkeep, ambiance, weather, surrounding neighborhood and local amenities such as restaurants and bars. However, the Big A rated a six for fan behavior and a five for fan knowledge.

“The fans turn out in record numbers, although they don’t always seem to know why. But not even beach balls can spoil a totally efficient park with its own unique appearance,” the magazine said.

The poll, criticized as unscientific and superficial by some stadium managers, was just another attempt to judge the quality of life in America’s stadiums, where fan behavior has been the subject of intense study.

When he became baseball commissioner Oct. 1, 1984, Peter H. Ueberroth expressed a desire to “work quietly and effectively on the problems of fan behavior, which seemed worse two years ago than now,” said Leslie Lawrence, manager of broadcasting for the commissioner’s office.

In July, 1985, Ueberroth set up a committee to examine the matter and what ball clubs and stadiums were doing about it. Chaired by Lawrence, the group began a Fan Behavior Study, which was concluded in early 1986. By polling ballclub owners and stadium operations and security directors, the committee learned what types of crowd control problems the 26 baseball arenas were experiencing and what, if any, solutions they had found.

The committee learned that alcohol abuse was not the only culprit, Lawrence said. Other factors include the structure and cleanliness of a stadium--whether concession stands are planted so obtrusively they block crowd flow--if there is enough security and even the time of the game.

Around the country, officials have sought remedies:

- At Tiger Stadium in Detroit, after a number of people were injured last season during a brawl that started among fans chanting “Tastes great, less filling,” officials shut down the bleacher section. This year, they reopened the area but no longer allow the sale of beer or alcohol there. (The same policy is used at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.) Violent incidents have decreased markedly, Lawrence said.

- At New York’s Yankee Stadium where Angel first baseman Wally Joyner was grazed on the arm by a foot-long folding knife that was thrown toward the players as they were coming off the field after an Aug. 26 night game, games that used to start as late as 8 p.m. have been moved up to reduce the time fans have to drink outside the stadium. Like many ballparks, Yankee Stadium no longer has vendors selling beer in the stands.

- At Boston’s Fenway Park, home of the team facing the Angels in the playoffs, Red Sox officials have taken the unusual step of selling season tickets for the bleachers, where seats historically have been inexpensive and sold the day of the game.

- Lawrence said Chicago’s Comiskey Park, the oldest ballpark in America, is the best example of a “100% metamorphosis” in crowd-control improvement.

With refurbishments that included a fresh coat of paint, a doubled security force, posted rules of behavior and a hard line on alcohol abusers, the Chicago White Sox owners have dramatically improved the ballpark’s atmosphere, said Lawrence, who worked there for five years. Mascots and souvenirs aimed at families also have been added.

“Eleven years ago, it was a pain . . . to be here,” acknowledged David Schaffer, general manager of Comiskey Park, where a radio station promotion on July 12, 1979, between the games of a White Sox double-header turned into what is now referred to as the Disco Demolition. Rioters tore up the field, forcing cancellation of the second game.

Schaffer said the ballpark cleanup campaign was in 1980 after new owners bought the Chicago White Sox. “It took about a year and a half to educate the fans,” he said. “Gradually they realized, ‘Hey, you can’t just beat people up here.’ ”

Said Bob Mandt, manager of Shea Stadium, home of the National League New York Mets: “The thing you always have to remember is that when you’re putting 50,000 people in an arena, that’s like putting a small city inside walls. And all cities have murders, rapes, robberies. I think, for a small city, we’re ahead of the game.”