AT WORK WITH THE DODGERS `FAMILY' : IMPENDING SALE SEEN AS END OF ERA.

Byline: Dennis Love Daily News Staff Writer

Irony abounded Wednesday at Dodger Stadium.

Upstairs in the posh Stadium Club, the Los Angeles Dodgers ``family'' was welcoming two of its favorite sons - retired greats Steve Garvey and Ron Cey - back into the fold, and announcing the signing of first baseman Eric Karros to a four-year, $20 million contract.

Far below on the playing field, groundskeeper Al Meyers was operating a tractor on the infield clay after 1997's first winter workout. Like many other longtime Dodger employees, he was still processing the stunning news that Peter O'Malley was putting the Dodgers up for sale after 47 years of family ownership.

``This is the kind of place that once you come to work here, you don't want to leave,'' said Meyers, 43, who has spent 11 years on the Dodgers grounds crew. ``I'm still numb. . . . It really is a family kind of place. People have always worked hard and they've been taken care of. And that starts at the top.''

The word seemed to echo around the ball park Wednesday: ``family.''

And while the presence of a re-signed Karros and marketing hires Garvey and Cey may have been a comforting sight for suddenly sore Dodger eyes, the likes of Meyers, 21-year Dodger organization veteran April Thompson and others nonetheless seemed to realize that the time had come to recognize that they had worked in a special place during, as it turns out, a special and limited time.

``You hope that things won't change,'' Meyers said, squinting into the bright afternoon sun. ``But who can say? When Disney bought the Angels, all kinds of changes were made. You can't help but think about it.

``All I can say is that it's a wonderful place to work. It's the kind of place where people are given second chances. That's the family influence.''

And the apparent last stand of a bygone era. Upstairs, Garvey spoke of how a ``global communications company'' was the kind of likely buyer that would be interested in acquiring the Dodgers, regarded as one of the elite organizations in sports.

It remains to be seen if the head of a global communications company would take time to speak to the ushers, like Peter O'Malley.

``At most corporations, you're lucky if the muckety-mucks even look at you, much less speak,'' said Vickie Aijian, a Dodger usher for 14 years whose day job is as a legal secretary. ``I've never passed Peter when he didn't smile and say `Hi,' acknowledge your presence. He might not stop to chitchat, but he had a way of letting you know that you were a part of the team and you were appreciated.''

April Thompson was an usher for 20 years, until she was promoted last year to the full-time position of manager of the stadium ushers and ticket takers. She has an office now with big, looming photographs of Dodger Stadium on the walls, but she remembers well how she always seemed to tailor her day jobs to accommodate her nocturnal journeys to work the aisles for the Dodgers.

``The Dodgers job was seasonal work, but I always made sure my other jobs never got in the way,'' she said. ``That's the kind of place it is, always has been. . . . You wanted to get here, to work here, to stay here. It sounds corny, but it was a privilege. It's one of those rare places where loyalty actually is rewarded. It really is a family.''

Even the Dodger muckety-mucks can relate:

``The Dodgers and the O'Malleys have a value system that you can share and be proud of,'' said Barry Stockhamer, the team's vice president for marketing, as the Stadium Club press conference broke up.

``There's not a high rate of turnover. There isn't a constant reinvention of policies and players,'' he said. ``You have the very clear sense that you're in it for the long haul.''

That long haul appears at an end.

``I'm thankful for the opportunity we've had here,'' Thompson said. ``I guess nothing lasts forever.''

CAPTION(S):

3 Photos

PHOTO (1 -- color) Dodger Stadium groundskeeper Al Meyers says he is still ``numb'' over Peter O'Malley's announcement on selling the team.

(2) Barry Stockhamer, Dodgers marketing vice president, said the ownership has a special system.

(3) April Thompson has worked games at Dodger Stadium for 21 years.

Terri Thuente/Daily News