Big A Readied for Big Day : Groundskeepers, Concessionaires Do Their Bit for Ballplayers, Fans

The operations manager of Anaheim Stadium walked by the closed concession stands, through a dimly lit tunnel, past the rows of empty seats and down onto the field, where the sun was at high wattage on a cloudless morning but the dew still shimmered on the grass.

“You should have been here a month ago,” Phil Larcus said as he surveyed the green. “It was all dirt.”

After a winter of discontent and front-office trade blunders, there is--once again--new grass on the field.

The groundskeepers were busy around Larcus, prepping the field for the Freeway Series this weekend. On Saturday, exactly 15 days after the swallows’ reunion with San Juan Capistrano, the California Angels will mark another rite of spring by playing the Los Angeles Dodgers in an exhibition. Opening day is Tuesday against Milwaukee.

But before they shout “play ball,” everyone from the groundskeepers to the concessionaires puts in hundreds of hours in hopes that no infielders will suffer bad hops, that no fans will endure long queues in obtaining a ballpark frank, that the giant screen and the sound system add spark to the game.

They are the faceless people who make sure the stadium looks like a million bucks, like it’s worthy of a major leaguer’s paycheck. They make sure everything from the light bulbs to the sprinklers work. They share a thing with umpires. When they perform their job well, 81 home games a year, no one should notice them.

Dwight Schooler at times feels responsible for a bad hop on the infield. The 39-year-old groundskeeper grew up about 2 1/2 miles from the Big A, in a neighborhood where on a quiet night he could hear the ballpark crowd.

He had pitched Little League and ruined his arm by trying to throw the curve too early, he said, pointing to the right elbow where scars remain from an earlier operation.

His brother, Mike, came up to “the Show” as a relief pitcher for the Seattle Mariners. And Dwight Schooler gets to work a major-league infield his way.

The groundskeepers were busy on this particular morning, mowing the grass, spreading dirt on the infield, washing the outfield fences.

Their baseball perspective is a tad different from a player’s or a rotisserie fanatic’s.

To a fan, the infield dirt is exactly that: dirt.

To people such as Dwight Schooler, the infield dirt is a blend of clay, silica sand and wood bark called the “Angel mix.” How he spreads it on the infield may make a difference between fair and foul for a grounder.

To the “mortal eye,” Anaheim Stadium is 333 feet down the line and 404 feet to straight-away center field. To the groundskeepers, that’s 106,000 square feet of Santa Ana Bermuda sod.

In the off-season, the sod is taken up for tractor pulls and motorbike races and off-road vehicle competitions. Almost a month ago, workers installed new sod.

On Wednesday, turf consultant Steve Cockerham checked the condition of the field. In about 10 days, if weather permits, the grass will be in good shape, he said.

Meanwhile, in the gourd of the stadium, concession workers were busy ordering and stocking supplies for Saturday’s game.

Fans are expected to munch on 25,000 hot dogs and 10,000 orders of nachos, and to wash it down with 30,000 sodas and 20,000 beers, said John Trosper of Odgen Entertainment Services, the stadium concessionaire.

Concession workers Anthony Stella and Steve McAlister also see things that the average fan doesn’t.

For them, a 20,000 attendance is ideal, a crowd just large enough to keep them busy, but not too busy. And visits by the New York Yankees often make for an interesting day on the job. The rowdy fans who come out for the Bronx Zoo crew sometimes force them to shut off the beer taps early.

Most of the time it’s an enjoyable job. It allows them to meet stars like Jim Abbott and Wally Joyner.

After all, “every boy had that bat in his hand at one time,” McAlister said. And this is as close as the workers will ever come to the majors.

Ballpark Essentials Food, drink and souvenirs help make the cost of a visit to the ballpark anything but peanuts. Last year the package price at Anaheim increased about 11% from 1991.

Item 1991 1992 Parking $4.00 $5.00 View level seat 7.00 7.00 Program 2.00 2.00 Hot dog 2.00 2.25 14-oz beer 3.25 3.25 12-oz soft drink .75 .75 Baseball cap 8.00 10.00 Total $27.00 $30.25

Source: Team Marketing Report; Researched by APRIL JACKSON / Los Angeles Times