ANGELS' BIG E FOR BASEBALL ONLY.

Byline: KEVIN MODESTI

Walk into a basketball or hockey arena out of season, and you could as easily imagine an auto show or a swap meet being held there as a basketball or hockey game.

I'm thinking back to last May, the day after the Lakers were knocked out of the playoffs, when the players dropped by the Forum to clean out their lockers. The courtside bleachers had been cleared away, Jack Nicholson's chair sent out for detailing. There was no hardwood and there were no baskets. And no ice rink, because the Kings had been done for a month. Just an empty, concrete floor.

Walk into a football stadium out of season, after the end-zone paint is faded and the goal posts dismantled, and you might as well be staring at a cow pasture.

That's why nobody writes songs about basketball, hockey and football arenas.

Baseball is different. Walk into a ballpark out of season and you can't help imagining a game going on.

This is how I know for sure that Anaheim Stadium is a real ballpark again. I walked into the Angels' renovated home Friday - 50 days before the April 1 opener against the New York Yankees - and it passed the imagination test.

There, in the 398-foot, left-center alley of the now-asymmetrical outfield, I imagined Jim Edmonds diving to make a catch.

There, in the picnic area beyond the left-field bullpens, I imagined fans being scattered by a Cecil Fielder home run.

There, on the out-of-town scoreboard that will dominate the 17-foot-tall ``mini-monster'' wall in right field, I imagined the Seattle Mariners sinking deeper into second place behind the Angels.

All this, even though the only players on hand Friday were the few who came in to use the training facilities.

All this, even though it was raining pitchers and catchers outside, a crane stood on the infield to help workers install grandstand railings, and not a single blade of grass had yet been planted.

All this, even though I was wearing not a ball cap but a construction helmet, something I haven't done at a ballpark since Steve Sax retired.

The Angels are holding open house today and Sunday - phone [phone] for details and reservations - and, if you've got any kind of imagination, you're going to love the ballpark now known as Edison Field.

At a cost expected to run over $100 million, the Disney people are close to completing the renovation that began during last season, bringing a merciful end to the stadium's 19 years as a ``multipurpose'' purgatory.

Before the stadium was enclosed and seating expanded to 70,000 to accommodate the Los Angeles Rams in 1981, there used to be a ballpark here, its design as simple and airy as Dodger Stadium's.

Now the air is back, if not the simplicity.

There's a clear view of the Pond beyond left and center fields, thanks to the removal of the towering stands out there. There's an intimate feel, the seating reduced to about 45,000. There seems to be no threat of a football or soccer game breaking out at the Big E.

``It was great to have those big crowds,'' said Tim Mead, the Angels assistant general manager, who has worked for the club since 1981. ``But baseball is supposed to be about fan involvement. This ballpark is going to promote fan involvement.''

If the green seats and other earth tones give the Big E an old-fashioned feel, there's plenty to make it thoroughly modern in the fashion of Camden Yards and The Ballpark at Arlington.

Most impressive will be the plaza area where early arrivals can linger for food and entertainment before entering the stadium itself.

``People are going to like coming out to a nice ballpark and finding out there's a good club inside,'' Angels pitcher Chuck Finley said.

Without the second part - a good club inside - a nice ballpark will sell only so many tickets. Which the Angels understand.

``I think the bar gets raised a little because of what we're doing with the ballpark,'' Angels president Tony Tavares said. ``I think players and fans can expect a little more.''

The new park can't hurt, manager Terry Collins said.

``You look at what happened in Cleveland (and) Colorado, the places that have those fantastic places,'' Collins said. ``The players picked their games up.''

Collins calls the Big E ``a showcase for a good team.''

And you know what? I can imagine that, too.