No Game? No Problem : 50,000 Show Up in St. Louis for Cardinals’ ‘Fan Appreciation Day’

Judging from the scene at Busch Stadium on Sunday, the St. Louis Cardinals should have no trouble luring their fans back after the strike.

No ballgame? No problem.

A crowd estimated at more than 50,000, most wearing Cardinal red, turned out for a free “fan appreciation day.” The event was one of the first moves by new team president Mark Lamping, who has said the fans probably have suffered the most in the strike.

Intermittent rain didn’t deter the fans, who waited in line as long as an hour to get in the park on what would have been the season finale against the Montreal Expos.

Fans were allowed on the field, and they lined up 20 deep to run the bases. Tours were conducted of the clubhouse, the press box and admission was free to the Hall of Fame Museum.

Lamping and Manager Joe Torre worked the crowd on the field, 14 former Cardinals gave playing tips and manned autograph booths, and Hall of Famers Stan Musial and Red Schoendienst made appearances at the museum.

The team also gave out free tickets good for a game next season and offered all concession stand food items for $1.

It apparently was too much to resist, even for fans disgruntled by the eighth and most serious work stoppage baseball has experienced in the last 22 years.

“Baseball ought to give the fans some sort of World Series, some sort of finale, even if it’s just one game,” said Ray Shell, 13, of Godfrey, Ill.

“I remembered how much I love baseball,” said Bob Axley, 26, of St. Charles, who took his 4-year-old son Brandon to the event. “The strike is pretty disheartening, but I’m sure I’ll come back.”

The Cardinals certainly won’t take such positive statements for granted.

“Today, it looks like they’ll be back,” Cardinal spokesman Brian Bartow said. “Only time will tell. Management, owners and players--everyone’s going to have to do a big image cleanup after this is all over. We felt it was important to start this now.

“Why wait until the strike is over?”