Dodgers hear it from fans and sign off on rule change

The Dodgers, surrendering to the wishes of irate fans, announced Friday they have dropped a new rule and will allow all youngsters to seek autographs in Dodger Stadium in much the same way they have done for years.

No comment yet from the rich kids, but now everyone in the stadium will be given the same opportunity to stand on the dirt strip at the end of the Dodgers dugout and be ignored by the players while trying to get an autograph.

The Dodgers are still trying to keep the unwashed out of the field-level box seats, and in doing so have designated a taped-off area for autographs. On first glance, kids at the head of the line might have a better chance of getting an autograph than they did last year.

Fans started showing up a little before 6 Friday night. At one point, the line extended almost halfway up to the snack bars, which is as close as they’ll get once the game starts.

Almost a dozen Dodgers employees were in the area. None of them asked for autographs. They brought down a box of Sharpies, which actually had ink in them. The fans seemed to like the new arrangement.

“It’s cool,” said Bryce Erickson, 12, of Fontana. “This is better than before because you’re actually on the field.”

Added Nancy Freeman, 27, of Pomona: “We’re fans, we should be able to do this.”

But despite the Dodgers’ efforts to improve the situation, only a few players took notice. Andre Ethier, Delwyn Young and Matt Kemp were seen obliging some of the kids; Andruw Jones was obviously in the batting cage beneath the stands getting in some extra work.

The Dentist, the team’s new PR guy, said a large number of fans provided “data,” using the team’s e-mail address published on Page 2 this week. They apparently made it quite clear they were not happy about kids’ being kept away from the players.

“I read the e-mails aloud to everyone here and it helped,” the Dentist said. “We decided to allow everyone to enter the field level the way they have in previous years -- through the end of batting practice.

“We had been concerned about crowding on the field level but that just doesn’t seem to apply through batting practice. We’ll try to funnel people down Aisle 27 to help with the cleanliness and occupancy problems in the field box seats, and we’ll see what we can do about expanding the available area in center field for kids.”

Team employees tried to make sure kids got to the front of the line and got to stand on the field. They used parents’ cameras to take pictures of their kids not getting autographs.

“I guess they are making an attempt,” said Gabriel Ramirez, 39, of Santa Clarita. “But nobody showed up.” That’s a heckuva way to refer to Delwyn Young.

The Dodgers, who have been advertising new concession choices on the field-level concourse, had blocked entrance to the concourse except for those fans with field-level tickets.

All fans will now be allowed to use the new concession stands, but only through the end batting practice. The area will then be closed once again to everyone except the rich folk.

“We’re not there yet,” the Dentist said, when asked why such a restriction was necessary. “We’ll see how everything works out, and maybe revisit the issue later.”

Anyone with an objection might try e-mailing fanfeedback@ladodgers.com. It’s been known to work.

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Times staff writer David Wharton contributed to this report.

T.J. Simers can be reached at t.j.simers@latimes.com.

To read previous columns by Simers, go to latimes.com/simers.