Clean It, And They Will Come : ‘Frantic Time’ for the ‘Big A’ Crews

Mike Weller put in a 12-hour day Friday.

First he turned on each light at Anaheim Stadium to make sure it was working properly. Then he tested the stadium’s mammoth sound system, playing a Madonna tape over its myriad loudspeakers. Finally he spent several hours pulling switches in the announcers booth to isolate any electrical problems in its circuitry.

“It’s real challenging,” said Weller, an Anaheim city electrician. “I really enjoy the people I work with. How many other people get to sit next to Gene Autry?”

The first regular season game isn’t until next week, but Friday night’s opener of the preseason Freeway Series between the American League’s Angels and the National League’s Dodgers was the real opening day for Weller and 200 workers who have toiled for three months to whip 65,593-seat Anaheim Stadium into shape.

As befits such an occasion, the pregame mood was a bit frenetic. Time was not to be wasted. Workers hosed, hammered, hunched and hollered in last-minute anticipation of the first pitch--and the season of baseball to follow.

“This is a frantic time for us,” said Jody Roginson, the stadium’s parking manager. “If everything isn’t finished today, we’re in trouble.”

Over the past few months, she said, city workers had applied fresh paint to the stadium’s railings and ceilings, cleaned every seat, graded the field, put down new sod, erected the foul poles, painted white lines on the grass and focused the stadium’s dozens of spotlights.

One six-member crew had spent three weeks painstakingly removing and cleaning each tiny light cell in the ballpark’s massive scoreboard, she said.

Yet much remained to be done Friday afternoon. Countertops had to be dusted and windows washed. Seats had to be hosed down and trees trimmed. Refreshment stands had to be stocked with hot-dog buns and hallways mopped.

Some of those involved were less than thrilled with the fast pace.

Bob Hasenjaeger, video coordinator for the Angels, could not even stop for a brief conversation as he frantically unwound a roll of cable to install a video line to the club president’s box in the bleachers.

“The first day is always over-the-border bizarre,” Hasenjaeger said, adding that he expected to work 13 hours nonstop. “Craziness is a good (way to describe it); you got to bite the bullet and hope you survive.”

Chuck Torrez, on the other hand, seemed to be taking everything in stride. The Pacific Bell systems technician tested each of the stadium’s 83 telephone lines for use by the army of print, TV and radio journalists covering the game.

“I like the job,” the telephone man said. “I’m in control of everything that’s going on. If it works it’s me, and if it doesn’t work it’s me.”

The ultimate test, though, remained to be passed. That would be the future enjoyment of the estimated 50,000 baseball fans expected for the game, some of whom formed lines hours in advance to buy tickets.

“I’m here to get good seats,” said Roger Simpson, 28, a student from Anaheim. “It’s a game I attend every year.”

Tim Munoz, 35, of Torrance added: “This is sort of the Southern California championship.”

Nearby, meanwhile, another sort of preparation was well underway. Here, camped out on the pavement, the usual horde of autograph-seekers noisily shared schemes aimed at persuading arriving players to sign a vast collection of accouterments, ranging from bats to magazines.

“It’s like a game of cat-and-mouse,” admitted Robert Ball, 22, of Covina. “They do their best to avoid us, and we do our best to get their autographs. It’s a challenge.”

John Lazarus, 37, of Fountain Valley said the pursuit of autographs has become something of an obsession.

“I’m a sports nut,” he said.

But did he intend to stay for the baseball game?

Heck no, Lazarus said, not with a basketball bout involving his favorite team being simultaneously broadcast from Chicago.

“Can’t miss it,” Lazarus said. “I’m a Clippers fan.”