Lines Are Short for Angel Tickets

Larry Brody was at Anaheim Stadium before noon Monday to be sure he could get good tickets for his family for the Angels’ game July 4.

Whether replacement players will be on the field at midseason was not his main concern as single-game tickets, some of them at reduced prices, went on sale.

“I wanted to be sure we have a good place to watch fireworks,” said Brody, who lives in the Valinda area of Los Angeles. “I’m happy with the seats. Hopefully, by that time they’ll have all this straightened out. But if they don’t, we’ll still have a good view of the fireworks . . . “

But three tickets were all Brody bought, even though he was considering season tickets for a time. . But that was before the baseball strike dragged on into spring training. Brody says he has no plans to buy more tickets until the major league players return.

“These guys get paid millions of dollars, and I think something should be done to make them get back on the field,” he said. “I mean, baseball is a way of life. But why pay to see baseball if scabs are going to be playing?”

There was no surge for tickets Monday. There were about 25 fans in line when the three ticket windows opened at 9 a.m., but after that, no one had to wait.

The Angels are offering tickets for opening day April 4 against Milwaukee for $1, with other home games in the first week of the season half price. All others are being sold at full price, although ticket buyers are being told they might be discounted at a later date if the strike isn’t settled.

Kevin Uhlich, vice president for operations for the Angels, said about 1,800 tickets were sold Monday, most of them for opening day and the exhibition game against the Dodgers. “That’s about 60% of what we did on the first day of public sale last year,” he said. “Under the circumstances, that’s about what we expected.”

Uhlich said the Angels have sold about 9,600 season tickets, “although we still have some with deposits still out.” The Angels sold 12,300 last year, and Uhlich said sales might fall between 1,500 and 1,800 behind last year.

The start of the regular season is only three weeks away and reactions of ticket buyers to baseball’s current plight were various.

Denise Carrasco of Cerritos came to the ballpark with her 3-year-old daughter, Sarah, to buy opening-day tickets.

“I personally didn’t want to buy the tickets, but our daughter has been to opening day each year, so we wanted to keep up that tradition,” she said. “My husband is a big baseball fan and he goes to a lot of home games, but I don’t think we’ll buy any more tickets until the strike is settled.”

Larry Hurst of Tustin said he would like to see the strike settled, but still plans to attend games with replacement players. “But I’m a little irritated because I think the owners are just trying to kill the union, and I don’t feel they’ve negotiated in as good faith as the players,” he said.

John Brewer of Fountain Valley said it isn’t critical to him that the season start with the regular players. “I just want to see some baseball played, although I’d obviously prefer to see the big-name players,” he said.

Bob Oatey of Long Beach bought four tickets for opening day and said he plans to buy others. “Go, replacement players!” he said, smiling.

Oatey said if the ticket prices are reduced, he will be able to see more baseball, and he likes that idea.

“For one thing, I don’t like millionaire crybabies,” Oatey said. “But I like baseball, however it’s played. And I think, as fans, we’re going to be pleasantly pleased with the level of play. And from what I see and read from spring training, the players are really trying, are aggressive and are playing through their injuries. I want to support that.”

Jay Schraan of Pomona stopped by to check on his season-ticket seat location and to see if it could be improved.

“Looking at it from a season-ticket holder’s standpoint, I would hate to lose my position,” he said. “A partner and I have had season tickets for 15 years. “I went to some (San Bernardino) Quakes games last year, and I think that’s about the level of baseball we’ll be seeing, but it was fun, and the concessions were reasonable.