THOUSAND OAKS : Tigers Manager Right at Home With His Fans

One by one, Matthew Huml of Newbury Park handed up his baseball glove, a wooden bat, an autograph book and a baseball for George (Sparky) Anderson to sign.

Then, the 6-year-old sheepishly asked the Detroit Tigers manager the greatest number of hot dogs that bulky Tiger outfielder Cecil Fielder has eaten in one sitting before a game. Anderson leaned forward and flashed a grin.

“Six,” he said, pausing to gauge the boy’s wide-eyed reaction. “But maybe more before he came,” he concluded with a gravelly laugh.

Dozens of children lined up Friday evening at St. Paschal’s Baylon Church in Thousand Oaks to rub shoulders with Anderson, a member of the parish, who has wintered in Thousand Oaks for 28 years. The free event was open to the public.

“When I’m in Thousand Oaks, I’m totally at home,” Anderson said. “I know everyone in this town by face. They have always shown me courtesy. I have never been bothered.”

Signing pictures, sharing baseball tips and answering questions from children and adults alike is fun, “because I always believed this is what real life is,” Anderson said. “The other part is not the real world. It’s make-believe.”

Sean Lindsay, 11, of Newbury Park said the children like Anderson because he is always patient.

“He’ll sign anything you want,” Sean said, displaying the baseball and glove he had autographed.

Maryann Bensman brought her 8-year-old son, Kenny, for the event. But her enthusiasm rivaled the boy’s.

“He’s going to be in the Hall of Fame someday,” Bensman said of Anderson.

Always playing coach, Anderson said he likes to use the attention his fame has afforded him to teach children important lessons about life. He told the crowd an anecdote about a man in a car who followed him home one day.

Anderson said he stopped to ask the gawker if he needed help, but the man replied that he had come only to steal a glance at Anderson’s digs. “I thought you would have a much bigger house,” Anderson said the man exclaimed.

Anderson concluded, “A big house and money--if that’s your ambition, you’ve failed before you’ve begun.”