What Price Forgiveness? : More Than 51,000 at Angels Opener Say $1 Sounds About Right

Carrying a plate of gooey nachos, Larry Engler trudged up a ramp at the Big A on Wednesday night and asked a friend if he should have his head examined.

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“I think instead of having people taking your tickets, they should have counselors at the gate, counseling you for showing up tonight,” the 40-year-old Huntington Beach resident said loudly. “I guess baseball is just in my blood.”

Engler wasn’t alone.

With the price of tickets slashed to $1, the season-opener between the California Angels and the Detroit Tigers at Anaheim Stadium drew more than 51,000.

Ticket windows closed even before the gates opened at 6 p.m., leaving some fans empty-handed and disappointed.

But for many of those who did get in, the special $1 admission price appeared to soothe any lingering feelings of resentment over last season’s major league baseball strike.

“I think it’s a great idea,” 36-year-old Michael Levenberg said of the cheap ticket promotion. “This might put some positive publicity back into the game because it sorely needs it. It’ll be interesting to see if the ballplayers are more agreeable to giving autographs.”

At least one player appeared to be doing his best to mingle with fans before the game. Angels player Rex Hudler signed baseballs and programs and shook the hands of fans who showed up early to catch a close-up glimpse of the players.

“It’s awesome to be back here,” Hudler said as he autographed a baseball. “I have goose bumps. It’s so nice to hear the fans say that they are willing to forgive and forget. I’m really grateful for the opportunity to play for them.”

Santa Ana resident Phil Hanson, 55, wasn’t so sure he was in the forgiving mood. A season-ticket holder, Hanson said it might take some time before his love of the game returns.

“I have mixed emotions about all of this,” Hanson said. “We enjoy being at the ballpark, but I think there was a lot of greed from both the players and the owners.”

But Steve Civil, 28, was clearly glad the strike is over. He used the occasion of opening day to bring his son, Christopher, to his first professional baseball game.

The precocious 7-year-old, wearing a baseball cap, sat excitedly with a California Angels program on his lap.

“I’m going to teach him how to keep score,” said Civil, of Yucaipa. “This is his first game so it’s really special.”

It was also the first Angels game for 80-year-old Dorothy Gentry of Ontario, who said she was on a “date” with her husband of five years, Ernie Gentry, also 80.

“It’s a cheap date,” she said, smiling. “He said it would only cost a dollar so I said, ‘Let’s go!’ ”

For Whittier resident Dolly Garcia, 42, the return of baseball comes at a perfect time.

“Between the Oklahoma bombing and the O.J. Simpson case, it’s just good to be back here enjoying something positive,” she said.

Among those waiting for the gates to open was San Diego resident Anne Wells, the mother of Detroit Tigers pitcher David Wells. Even though her son was not pitching Wednesday night, she was excited to be back at a ballpark.

“This is fantastic!” Wells said. “I couldn’t wait for this day. I drove up from San Diego to have lunch with my son and now I get to go to a ballgame.”

Moreno Valley resident Tim Megerle brought 25 players from his Little League team. The group bought their tickets two weeks in advance but still wound up in the last row.

“It’s great to be back, even if I’m in the last row,” said Megerle as he passed out red licorice to his players. “I really don’t have hard feelings.”