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HAT STEALERS MAY 16, 2000 All that for a baseball cap. Several Dodgers got into a bench-clearing tussle with Wrigley Field fans Tuesday night after fans stole Chad Kreuter's hat and hit him in the ninth inning of Los Angeles' 6-5 victory over the Chicago Cubs.
When the fight was over, several fans had been hauled out, the game had been delayed almost 10 minutes, there was litter on the field and the Dodgers were in shock at one of the more bizarre events ever at Wrigley Field. "If you wanted a hat that bad, be polite and ask for one. We'll give it to you. We've got a whole bunch of them," said Todd Hundley, whose game-winning three-run homer was all but forgotten in the mess. "When you get physical, if you even touch a player, then it's on." Three fans were arrested in the incident and charged with disorderly conduct, police said. They were released from jail, and a June 19 court date was set. A fourth fan, who ran on the field earlier in the game, was charged with trespassing. "Our security staff is still in the process of sorting things out," Cubs general manager Ed Lynch said. No wonder. Fights between teams are one thing. But a meleé with fans? "I was just shocked," Gary Sheffield said. "I've never seen anything like that in my 12-year career." A fan grabbed Kreuter's cap, apparently hit him and then took off running. Kreuter gave chase, and a few of his teammates followed. The rest of the bullpen gathered along the first-base wall and Los Angeles' dugout emptied.
"If somebody pops one of my guys, that's not supposed to happen," Dodgers manager Davey Johnson said. "A couple guys were pretty much intoxicated, big guys. Then the beer started coming down." It took security several minutes -- and several tries -- to finally restore order. Cubs manager Don Baylor and bench coach Rene Lachemann also came over to plead with fans to calm down. "That was part of the problem. It kept going on and no one showed up. There were no uniformed personnel," Dodgers general manager Kevin Malone said. "It looked like it was out of control and there weren't any control measures in place." Wrigley Field fans cram the ballpark no matter how bad the Cubs are. They throw opponents' home run balls back on the field. They stand in the ninth inning. They give Sammy Sosa standing ovations for just about anything. A game against the Colorado Rockies last May was delayed when fans, upset over an umpire's call, pelted the field with baseballs, bottles, coins and cups of beer. Colorado center fielder Darryl Hamilton said one fan threw a Jack Daniels bottle onto the field. Seventy-five people were ejected in that one, but there were no arrests. The Cubs restricted beer sales and added security after the incident. "This is my home town. I've been here hundreds of times," said Hundley, whose father, Randy, played for the Cubs. "I'm really disappointed in my hometown fans."
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A
few more players waded into the crowd, and several Dodgers were seen
tussling with fans.