It’s Luckier Than Winning the Lottery

The New York Post and the New York Daily News tracked down the fans who held tickets for what would have been a very unlucky seat had the 500-pound steel expansion joint, which collapsed in Yankee Stadium Monday afternoon and obliterated the seat below, fallen during a game.

“Five hours later, we would have been sitting there,” Brooklyn’s Frank Turano, whose family had four tickets for Monday night’s game--one for Seat 7, Box A in Section 22 of the loge level--said in the Post. “Obviously, someone was looking out for us.”

Richard Schupper of Westchester, N.Y., was the last person to use the seat when he attended Sunday afternoon’s Oakland-Yankee game.

“When I saw the picture in the paper, my stomach was nauseous--I just felt sick,” Schupper told the Daily News. “I’m a lucky guy. I’m playing that number [in the lottery] today.”

Giacomo Turano, Frank’s 62-year-old father, vowed never to return to Yankee Stadium unless he gets seats in a different section. “It’s a bad omen,” he said.

But Howard Rubenstein, a spokesman for George Steinbrenner, said the Yankee owner has invited the Turanos as his special guests to the Yankees’ first home game after stadium repairs are completed.

“If Mr. Turano doesn’t want to sit in that seat, George Steinbrenner will sit there,” Rubenstein said. “And after a few innings he’ll take Mr. Turano to his suite.”

*

New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani attended Wednesday’s game at Shea Stadium and sat with Steinbrenner next to the Yankee dugout. The two no doubt discussed the future of Yankee Stadium, which turns 75 this weekend but is showing obvious signs of age.

Steinbrenner for years has lobbied for a new stadium, citing poor parking, the lack of luxury suites and the perception that the stadium in the Bronx is in an unsafe area. Monday’s accident may give him his best talking point.

“It underscores the need for both teams [Yankees and Mets] to have new stadiums,” Giuliani said at a brief pregame news conference. “And the city is serious about negotiating a solution to that.”

Giuliani donned a Yankee jacket and admitted it was kind of strange speaking in front of a podium adorned with the Mets’ logo.

“But out of adversity comes all kinds of opportunity,” the mayor said. “This is exactly what I’d like to see in October, the Yankees and the Mets in the World Series. So this is an omen to me of what will happen in October.”

*

Wednesday marked the first time since Aug. 24, 1975, that the Angels had played in Shea. On that day, they swept a doubleheader from the Yankees, 9-0 and 4-3, behind the pitching of Frank Tanana and Nolan Ryan. The Yankees played all of their 1974 and ’75 home games in Shea while Yankee Stadium was being renovated.

The Angels were one strike away from a return trip to Shea in 1986 until Boston outfielder Dave Henderson’s ninth-inning homer sparked the Red Sox’s victory over the Angels in Game 5 of the American League championship series.

Boston then won Games 6 and 7 and went on to face the Mets in the 1986 World Series. “I would have liked to have come here 12 years ago,” said pitching coach Marcel Lachemann, who was with the Angels in 1986.

*

The Yankees and Tigers swapped weekend series so that inspections and repairs can continue in Yankee Stadium this weekend. The Tigers were scheduled for a three-game series in New York beginning Friday, but the Yankees will instead travel to Detroit. The New York-Detroit series scheduled for Tiger Stadium April 24-25 has been moved to Yankee Stadium. . . . Plenty of Yankee fans obviously found their way to Shea--Angel designated hitter Cecil Fielder, a former Yankee, was booed heartily before every at-bat. “That was to be expected,” Fielder said. “It didn’t bother me.” . . . Yankee center fielder Bernie Williams lined a pitch off Angel relief pitcher Shigetoshi Hasegawa’s right forearm in the seventh inning, knocking the right-hander out of the game. Hasegawa, who recovered in time to throw out Williams at first, was taken to a nearby hospital for X-rays. He has a bruised forearm and flew home with the club.

ON DECK

* Opponent--Tampa Bay Devil Rays, four games.

* Site--Edison Field.

* Tonight--7 p.m.

* TV--Fox Sports West Saturday night.

* Radio--KRLA (1110), XPRS (1090).

* Records--Angels 6-6, Devil Rays 7-5.

* Record vs. Devil Rays--First meeting.

* Tickets--(714) 634-2000.

TONIGHT

ANGELS’ JACK McDOWELL (1-1, 3.60 ERA)

vs.

DEVIL RAYS’ TONY SAUNDERS (0-1, 2.25 ERA)

* Update--The Angels have hit 11 home runs in their last three games, but 10 were with the bases empty, and they won only one of the three games. Darin Erstad extended his hitting streak to 12 with his seventh-inning homer.

* Friday, 7 p.m.--Chuck Finley (2-0, 0.77) vs. Rick Gorecki (1-1, 5.40).

* Saturday, 7 p.m.--Jason Dickson (0-2, 11.17) vs. Wilson Alvarez (2-1, 3.71).

* Sunday, 1 p.m.--Allen Watson (0-1, 10.38) vs. Rolando Arrojo (1-1, 8.16).