A VOTE FOR THE FANS: Rep. Howard...

A VOTE FOR THE FANS: Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-Panorama City) is fed up with the baseball owners and says he’ll support removal of the sport’s antitrust exemption when Congress takes it up. If the antitrust exemption is removed, the players might be able to return to the field while the labor dispute goes into the courts. “Why should major league baseball be treated differently than other businesses?” Berman asks. “Especially when (the owners’) conduct recently hasn’t served the public well.”

YOU BE THE JUDGE: If the baseball season opens with replacement players, Dodger ticket holders can get refunds. Season ticket holders can seek full refunds after the first homestand if they are unhappy with the product on the field, says the Dodgers’ Seth Bluman. . . . Tickets purchased for individual games can be refunded until May 31.

HE’S OUT: Al Kaplon, above, of Westlake Village might have to turn down the major leagues for the second time in four years. Kaplon, 37, a former minor league umpire, was asked to fill in for major league umps during their spring training strike in 1991. As of Sunday, major league umpires are locked out in a contract dispute again. . . . If Kaplon gets another call? He’ll probably say no again: “Although every man has his price, mine would probably be more than what they are offering.”

BACK IN ACTION: The return of college baseball this month is good news for the Valley’s many major league scouts. They’d been idle since being taken off the road to save money during the strike. Some were growing antsy. . . . Says Montreal Expos’ scout Scott Stanley of Canyon Country: “All I know about baseball these days is what I see on Oprah.”

SOME OLD FACES: Even if fans don’t know who they are watching on the field this season, Howard Levine of Sherman Oaks will be around to show them to their seats. . . . Levine said he plans to begin his 24th season as a Dodger Stadium usher this spring, big leaguers or not. “It’s going to be a lesser quality of game, but a job is a job,” he said.