Dodgers’ Sheriff Shoots His Mouth Off Again

Jim Esterbrooks is a baseball fan. He used to live in L.A and cheered for the Dodgers. He moved to San Diego, bought a ticket package that allows him to attend 40 games a year in Qualcomm Stadium, and now roots for the Padres.

He told his wife and 6-year-old son as they left for the park Saturday that he was going to boo Gary Sheffield.

At the ballpark, Esterbrooks’ son climbed onto his lap, and Sheffield stepped into the batter’s box.

Esterbrooks, sitting about six rows behind home plate, yelled, “You’re a disgrace, Sheffield.”

Two pitches later Sheffield hit a booming home run.

“My comeuppance,” Esterbrooks said. “He got me.”

Steve Billings, who has seats in the same row as Esterbrooks, chuckled and placed his hands around Esterbrooks’ throat like he was strangling him.

“Way to motivate Sheffield,” he joked.

Just across the aisle, someone yelled sarcastically at Esterbrooks, “Yeah, that was a disgrace.”

It was Dodger General Manager Kevin Malone.

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ESTERBROOKS RECALLS LAUGHING. Dodger Boy has that effect on people.

“I couldn’t believe the guy was yelling at me,” Esterbrooks said. “This was the general manager of the Koufax, Drysdale and all the greats in the Dodger organization that I grew up with in L.A yelling at me in the first inning of the game.”

Before the last out of the first inning was recorded, the man who represents an organization once known for its class would be challenging Esterbrooks to fight.

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AFTER ESTERBROOKS’ OPENING attempt at heckling Sheffield, and Malone’s retort, the discussion escalated.

Esterbrooks said, “[Sheffield] is a disgrace,” and Malone came right back with, “Oh yeah, mouth?”

I would think if he’s going to mix it up with the paying customers in the future, he might want to work on his repartee.

Esterbrooks told Malone, “Why don’t you pay [Sheffield] some more,” and Malone replied, “I will give him more money,” which should be enough to have him standing in front of Bob Daly’s desk this morning.

“Yeah, the fans will love paying for that salary,” Esterbrooks said.

As history demonstrates, there is no shutting up Malone.

“How much do you pay for those seats?” Malone continued, with the implication that if it means charging fans more to watch a game in order to pay Sheffield, they will still come to Dodger Stadium.

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UPON REFLECTION, BILLINGS said, “I was surprised by Malone’s ultra-sensitive thin skin. I remember saying, ‘Geez, what is it with this guy?’

“I had four people in my party, and not one of them could understand why anybody in that position--as GM of the Dodgers--would say anything to anybody. It was totally inappropriate.”

Saturday’s game attracted a huge crowd, because the Padres were retiring Dave Winfield’s number and fans received a free shirt. The exchange between Esterbrooks and Malone began to draw a lot of attention. Malone was making a spectacle of himself--I hope it didn’t scare away any potential UCLA recruits.

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THE CONVERSATION BETWEEN Malone and Esterbrooks peaked when Esterbrooks said, “Yeah, Dodger Boy, do another interview.”

“Come over here and say that,” Malone replied.

Esterbrooks was incredulous. “You want to fight me?”

Malone said, “Come over here and say that.”

Esterbrooks remained seated with his child in his lap. “I didn’t want to make a fool of myself and I definitely didn’t want to get hit.”

Malone declined to return my phone call--lost my number, I guess--but when Times’ baseball writer Jason Reid gave him every opportunity to deny he wanted to fight Esterbrooks, he said, “I can’t comment on what he felt.”

How funny would that have been if the Dodgers’ GM had gotten into a fight defending Sheffield?

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NOW I WAS unaware the job of a Dodger GM includes defending his players every time a fan yells at them. This guy is going to be very busy.

“I remember a game last year,” Billings said, “when Mets’ GM, Steve Phillips, was sitting here and we were making fun of the Mets’ players, and he never flinched. Never even turned to look at us.

“But I could tell Malone was ticked, he was leaning forward in his seat and he kept referring to Esterbrooks as ‘the mouth.’ ”

I don’t understand Malone. We’re talking about “The Sheriff” here. Why didn’t he just make a citizen’s arrest if he was so upset?

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MALONE DOESN’T DENY the exchange with Esterbrooks, and along with witnesses makes no claim that Esterbrooks used profanity. And there’s no suggestion he threw anything at any of the Dodgers. We know this--if he had, they wouldn’t have caught it.

Esterbrooks apparently was behaving like a paying customer, a fan, who made the mistake in his own ballpark of yelling something at Sheffield within rabbit-earshot of Malone. Malone apparently was behaving like himself.

“The guy was being obnoxious and getting on one of our players, getting on the Dodgers, and just being rude to me,” Malone said.

On those grounds--I’m surprised he hasn’t challenged me to fight.

Malone, in defending himself further, said he was protecting his son, who was with him. However, there’s no indication that anyone said anything more outlandish or embarrassing than the youngster’s very own father.

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Today’s last word might come in an e-mail, but couldn’t possibly top this.

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T.J. Simers can be reached at his e-mail address: t.j.simers@latimes.com.