End of Strike Is Just the Ticket for L.A. Fans

It wasn’t exactly spring fever, but there were some early signs Monday that Dodger Mania might yet live.

With the strike officially over, replacement players a fading memory and baseball--real, Major League baseball--less than a month away, a few of the truly faithful started to queue up at the squat little advance ticket sales office on Stadium Way.

“I’m so excited,” Dan Thorpe of Studio City said with a nervous giggle. “I’ve been so mad. So angry. So frustrated. I’ve waited so long.”

Thorpe didn’t have to wait long on Monday. There were only two people ahead of him in line, Dodger Stadium regulars who quickly picked up their tickets.

“There’s been a big void in his life,” said Karen McGuire, a friend of Thorpe’s. “He’s been reduced to watching high school basketball on TV.”

Terry Hunter, next in line, said it was a little different for him.

“Oh, I’m glad the strike is over,” Hunter said. “And I probably wouldn’t have gone to any of the replacement games. But the strange thing is, the strike sort of regenerated my interest in baseball.”

Tony Smith, who followed Hunter to the counter, was surprised the ticket line was so short.

“I guess people aren’t that sure about things yet,” Smith said.

But the folks who work at the stadium seemed sure. Rosemary Cochran’s spotless souvenir shop on the top deck was scrubbed down, stocked to the rafters with the latest Dodger paraphernalia. Just one thing was missing--customers.

“There were some this morning,” she said. “It’ll pick up.”

Antonio Gonzales was putting the finishing touches on a refurbished refreshment stand.

“It’s almost done,” he said. “It’ll be open on opening day.”

Down on the 2 1/2-acre field of emerald-green grass, Rico Rivera stood alone against a backdrop of 50,000 empty seats, hosing down a few spots that the sprinkler system had missed.

His boss, Al Meyer, the Dodgers’ head groundskeeper, watched approvingly from a stadium runway.

“We played a (replacement) game here Saturday, but it just wasn’t the same,” Meyer said. “Now the strike’s over, and it feels great. We’re ready.”