Anaheim Stadium Plays Ball--for TV

It may have been the biggest baseball crowd Anaheim Stadium will see the rest of this season. In spite of the 6-day-old strike by major league baseball players, about 100 people caught a glimpse of the national pastime Wednesday at the Big A. Of course, they were paid to show up, and the baseball they were watching was all fantasy. The folks in the stands were Hollywood extras earning about $65 each for their background roles as baseball fans in Fox Television’s new sports sitcom “Hardball.” Cast and crew used Anaheim Stadium to film episodes for the half-hour comedy series, which premieres Sept. 4. In the hot afternoon sun, extras watched as the show’s fictional team, the Pioneers, threw some pitches and swung a few bats. According to the show’s story line, the Pioneers not only wear uniforms similar to the California Angels’, but they also play like them. The team is struggling, about five games below .500.