COMMENTARY : They’re Well Worth Price of Admission

The final totals trickled in from ballparks across the land, and most of them were grim.

At Kansas City, 24,170.

At Milwaukee, 31,426.

At Atlanta, 32,045.

The polls were closing and the protest votes were piling up. They were votes against the work stoppage, against the fun stoppage, against a fall without a classic, against 8 1/2 months with the count stuck at no ball and one strike.

Chili Davis, among major league baseball’s 700 recently recovered MIAs, sat in his locker stall before Wednesday night’s Angel opener and nodded solemnly as the numbers were recited for him.

“Of everybody involved,” Chili said, “the fans are probably the only ones who have been truly loyal to the game. Think about it. I did what I had to do--the union said, ‘Strike,’ so I’m going on strike. The fans had no say. And in the long run, they are the ones who make the game. The fans make the game.

“Obviously,” Chili went on, “a few people are frustrated now. But there are more people out there who love the game and will come back than there are those who won’t.”

Still, the Angels decided to take no chances, this being their long-delayed, if not particularly anticipated, 1995 debut. So, for one night and one night only, the club slashed prices to a buck a seat, paraded old Angel stars around in older Chevrolet cars, raffled off a 1995 Camaro and round-trip air fare to New York, set off fireworks, hired several marching bands, introduced several local beauty queens, gave away T-shirts and baseball caps, had players lob a few baseballs to a few fans in the $1 field-box seats . . . and hoped that would be enough to begin buying back allegiance.

Angel baseball for a buck?

In the open marketplace, every product eventually finds its price, and Wednesday evening, the Angels found theirs.

Last season, with ticket prices ranging from $5 to $13, the Angels averaged barely 24,000 a home game. Even fewer showed up after Aug. 12. But at dollar a pop, demand almost caught up with supply and 51,145 turned out at Anaheim Stadium for the Angels’ 5-4 loss to the Detroit Tigers, a club record for a home opener.

(The Angels announced that a total of 63,938 tickets had been distributed, meaning that nearly 13,000 no-shows--also believed to be a club record--bought tickets to have a crack at that new car.)

Dollar baseball--an olive branch to the fans . . . or blatant bribery?

Sparky Anderson, the Detroit manager who walked out when he couldn’t stomach an industry gimmick called “replacement baseball,” called this move a stroke of brilliance.

“I think it’s a great idea, personally,” Sparky said an hour before the first pitch. He had heard about the fans in Miami booing the Dodgers and the Marlins before their game Tuesday and predicted that wouldn’t happen here.

“They’re getting in for a dollar--I’d think they’d be happy,” Sparky mused. “It should be a happy crowd and a big crowd. If they don’t draw well at a dollar a seat, boy, it’s going to be a long year.”

Early glimpses of the Angel pitching staff indicates that it could be a long year regardless. Chuck Finley served up a three-run home run to Juan Samuel, Russ Springer held Cecil Fielder to a two-run blast and by the middle innings, attention spans in the cheap seats began to wane.

Anderson has some advice for the Angels in their pursuit to win back the fans.

“The teams that play really well will get ‘em back right away,” Sparky said. “The teams that don’t are going to be in for a rough time. Some places, the fans won’t be back all year, because of the fact they’re losing. The fans already got a built-in excuse not to come to the games. Losing just gives them another.”

So, Angels, any other suggestions?

“We should acknowledge the fans as much as possible all the time,” Davis proposed. “Buy them dinner every once in a while. Invite them over to the house.”

Chili was joking, but you never know, the Angels just might want to try it.