Players Wary of Fans Going on Field

Catcher Mike Piazza was alarmed Thursday when three fans came over the restraining fence and confronted him in the outfield at Holman Stadium in Vero Beach, Fla.

“I’m looking at them coming toward me and I said, ‘Are you crazy? What are you doing? Get out of here!’ ” Piazza said.

“I think all they were looking for was autographs, but with the way things are going nowadays, you never know. Security got them out of there pretty fast.”

The Dodgers, who train in perhaps the most fan-friendly spring-training complex in baseball, say this type of incident is making them wary.

Piazza said fans in Vero Beach and Los Angeles have tried to follow him to his home.

Brett Butler said he pays more attention than ever to fans on the field.

“I always look at their hands first to see if they have a knife or gun,” he said. “It just seems like it’s getting worse and worse.”

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Outfielder Wayne Kirby, who switched from No. 55 and took pitcher Rick Gorecki’s No. 35, found a newspaper article taped to his locker, telling how Roger Clemens gave a $10,000 Rolex watch to outfielder Carlos Delgado for switching uniform numbers when he came to the Toronto Blue Jays.

“He didn’t tell me what he wants, but if he’s looking for a Rolex, he can have that number back,” Kirby said.

Outfielder Roger Cedeno, who surrendered No. 27 to Todd Zeile, switching to No. 45, said he also is awaiting word about a settlement with Zeile. Zeile is planning to buy Cedeno a suit.

“I’m listening,” Cedeno said, laughing.

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Newly re-signed pitcher Ismael Valdes will earn the same as teammate Hideo Nomo the next two years: $900,000 this season and $2.8 million in 1998. . . . The Dodgers kept fans and the media out of Holman Stadium for the first time Thursday morning so they could privately discuss and practice baserunning and go over signs.