FANS WILD FOR WINNING WEINER; DODGER DOG TOPS SURVEY OF MAJOR LEAGUE BALLPARK HOT DOG EATERS.

Byline: Ben Sullivan Daily News Staff Writer

Whether or not the Los Angeles Dodgers bring home the bacon this season, their fans are already expected to merit one savory distinction.

The people who study these things - in this case, the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council - say Dodger fans will down more dogs than their counterparts at any other major league ballpark.

Indeed, between now and October, visitors to Dodger Stadium are expected to swallow 2.2 million of the grilled and steamed links, outpacing by nearly 50 percent the closest challenger, the comparatively vegan crowd at Jacobs Field in Cleveland.

To put that in perspective, strung end to end, the 10-1/4-inch Dodger Dogs would create a meat string 356 miles long, able to stretch from Dodger Stadium to an orbiting space shuttle with ease.

``It really surprised us,'' said Janet Riley, a spokeswoman for the Washington, D.C.-based meat council. ``We expected you in California to live up to your reputation for being a little on the crunchy side. But you're the most enthusiastic consumer of hot dogs . . . in the nation.''

Helping Los Angeles' ranking is that many East Coast ballparks have expanded their menus to the point where a fan can buy everything from a turkey wing to sushi while watching a game. Even the Dodgers have experimented with broader fare, but the stadium's concession menus still point clearly back to their Cracker Jack-and-beer origins.

Overall, Americans will eat more than 20 billion weiners this year, making Dodger Dogs a mere burp on the nation's meat screen. Still, they account for nearly 10 percent of all hot dogs consumed at the nation's 28 major league ballparks, Riley said.

What's so special about the Dodger Dog?

``Have you ever had one, in Dodger Stadium?'' asked Ron Smith, a spokesman for Vernon-based Farmer John, the Clougherty Packing Co. division that makes Dodger Dogs. ``Then you have 75 percent of your answer right there.''

Farmer John makes the 100 percent pork hot dog specifically for the Dodgers, with what it describes as ``eastern grown, western flavored'' hogs. While the company produces extra-long dogs for other commercial customers and for retail sale, Rupert Murdoch's sport franchise owns the Dodger Dog trademark.

Though there are variations on the theme, a standard Dodger Dog is first steamed, then grilled before serving, Smith said, creating a charred but juicy taste combo. In addition, ``the Dodger Dog still sticks out of the bun. That's the unique added value that tickles your fancy,'' he said.

The real secret weapon, however, has got to be Hall-of-Fame sportscaster Vin Scully, whose avuncular voice extolling the virtue of the Dodger Dog from a thousand transistor radios is enough to weaken the resolve of even the staunchest bunny hugger.

``Vin has always done the Farmer John commercials for baseball and nobody does it like him,'' Smith said. While it is impossible to quantify Scully's contribution to Dodger Dog sales, ``They go hand in glove. And I'm not going to say which is the hand and which is the glove. Who came first? They're inseparable.''