By Mike Takeuchi
*The bottom part of this article is reprinted from a previous article.
Why is it that every time I go to a Dodgers/Giants game, somebody gets hurt or worse yet, killed? Thursday's Opening Day 2-1 victory over their hated (in their minds only) rivals the Giants made Dodgers fans rejoice-potential team shortcomings that were revealed notwithstanding. But the worse shortcomings have to do with the lack of proper security and the inability of the home crowd to act in accordance with basic civility.
Based on personal experience of Opening Day crowds and my own neurosis, my wife Munch and I arrived approximately two hours prior to the 5:00 start time. During this time, we had plenty of time to watch the Giants batting practice, do the NY Times crossword (which we almost finished because it was a baseball theme and I was given a few clues from a story about Brian Wilson-the Giants bearded reliever and the Beach Boys singer), and just to people watch. During this time, there were several shouts behind us in the Reserved Level concourse. Munch asked what was going on, and all I could say was that it was Giant fans going through "the gauntlet"- a human-made tunnel of 40-something energetic men all about 5'6" tall and equally wide, wearing Dodgers gear, and primed with alcohol.
The group indiscriminately taunted, insulted, and sometimes harassed anyone wearing orange or black or both. While it is commonplace to give the visiting fans a hard time, this group went far beyond the line by physically bodying up to male "miscreants" or with leering, remarks to female "enemies".
During the game, we were surrounded by some of the most rude fans around. One "gentleman" proceeded to sit in the seat in front of me and when I told him to move because they weren't his seats and his fat head was blocking my way, he became belligerent, prompting me to respond in kind. It got to the point where I thought more than once about what would happen if I pushed him over the railing onto the deck below? The drunkard eventually left, but his presence wasn't far from my mind for the rest of the game. And then something worse happened after the game..
From an Article in the Los Angeles Times on April 1 by Richard Winton
Los Angeles police were searching Friday for two Dodgers fans responsible for assaulting and critically injuring a man wearing San Francisco Giants apparel following Thursday’s game.
"The man suffered a serious head injury during the assault after the game,'' said Los Angeles Police Department Sgt. Sanford Rosenberg, watch commander at the Northeast Station.
Rosenberg said the victim was one of three Giants fans attacked in the parking lot around the end of the game by two unidentified men wearing Dodgers clothing.
The unprovoked attack occurred about 8:30 p.m. in Parking Lot 2 when two men in Dodgers clothing approached three victims in Giants apparel, police said.
The men then attacked the trio, kicking and punching them and shouting expletives about the Giants as they delivered the blows, Rosenberg said. The attack left one victim hospitalized in critical but stable condition, Rosenberg said.
Is this new? Hardly. It has been going on for years and it doesn't show any sign of abating. My proof? I wrote the article below in 2009. Now, two years later, it appears things have not changed
"My son was killed at Dodger stadium in 2003. Please stop the violence and enjoy the sport."
— Char Antenorcruz, mother of Marc Antenorcruz to the L.A. Times
People gotta chill. It is bad enough that Southland baseball lovers have had to weather the sadness of the death of Angels' pitcher Nick Adenhart, but violence at or near opening day Games for both Los Angeles area teams made the first week a lot less joyous.
The latest incident occurred during Monday's home opener at Dodger Stadium. As the fans cheered their team to victory courtesy of second baseman Orlando Hudson hitting for the cycle, something unfortunately more common was about to occur.
A man was stabbed several times after a confrontation in the parking lot with a group of men in a pick-up truck.
This happened one week after Buena Park resident Brian Powers, who while fighting with one man, was punched from behind by another after the Angels' home opener. After hitting his head on concrete during the fall, he was declared brain dead that evening and died April 8.
Far too many incidences of violence have occurrenced in the past few years.
Perhaps the worst occurred nearly five years ago at Dodger Stadium the night the San Francisco Giants clinched the National League West pennant. Shortly after the game, Marc Antenorcruz was shot.
Two years later, security personnel scuffled with unlicensed merchandise vendors in the stadium parking lot. Although there weren't any fatalities, four people had knife wounds.
At Oakland Coliseum in 2003, some yahoo thought it would be funny to throw a cherry bomb from the upper to the lower deck. It burned an 8-year-old boy and damaging his father's eardrums.
Over the years, despite beefing up security, going to the ballpark seems less safe — even without the aforementioned violence.
In 2006, before they were eliminated by the Mets in the playoffs, I lamented to my seat neighbor Jose that the Dodgers Cam never showed the fans in the pavilion or the upper deck.
"It's because they are always fighting," Jose laughed.
How true he was. Sure enough as the Dodgers were going down, no fewer than five fights occurred around us.
Even last season, when fans momentarily forgot their anger towards each other thanks to Manny Ramirez and a magical year, Game 4 of the NLCS was marred not only by the Phillies' comeback win, but several brawls — not to mention verbal abuse that reduced a petite college-aged woman to tears because she had the audacity to wear a Philadelphia cap.
Short of imposing martial law in the stadium, there seems to be no perfect solution. Because of the famous bottom line, teams would never consider cutting off beer sales earlier or distributing drink tickets to limit quantity. The only things I can think of are to beef up security, make them more proactive and not just reactive, and not allowing already drunk fans into the stadium.
Self policing would help, but it can't be relied upon. While it is noble for fans to come forward to complain, oftentimes fear of repercussions prevent this from happening.
There seems to be no clear cut solutions — only an acceptance that things are getting worse. And that's bad news for the true fans.
