TEAM'S FANS WONDERING WHAT CHANGES MURDOCH WILL MAKE.

Byline: Eric Wahlgren Daily News Staff Writer

The transfer of the Dodgers to Rupert Murdoch turned the team's fans into umpires of sorts Thursday, with some calling the sale a safe play for the franchise and others saying it's a strikeout for baseball lovers.

At Dodger Stadium and all around town, fans cheered the media tycoon's marketing savvy - Murdoch owns 20th Century Fox studios and the Fox television networks, among other ventures - and said his deep pockets will enable the Dodgers to lure and keep star players. Others were boo-birds, saying they fear the purchase by a global conglomerate could lead to the team's increased commercialization.

``I'm keeping an open mind,'' said Encino resident Margaret Robley, president of the Go-Go Dodgers Fan Club. ``But my gut feeling is that I think it is going to turn into a big business proposition that will get rid of the homey, family atmosphere that we all go to Dodgers games for.''

Despite the close in Florida of the $311 million deal that rocked the sports world, Dodger Stadium was eerily quiet Thursday. Team employees reported to work as usual, and a grounds crew mowed the field and raked the diamond in anticipation of the Freeway Series exhibition games between the Dodgers and the Anaheim Angels at the end of the month.

A Dodgers spokesman said there would be no gratuitous use of any Fox images for advertising and that fans would be mainly be watching old-fashioned baseball.

``We are going to continue to deliver the Dodgers experience that fans want,'' said Barry Stockhamer, the franchise's vice president of marketing. ``You got your Dodger Dogs, (announcer) Vin Scully. The game is No. 1.''

Fans who came to the park in Chavez Ravine near Silver Lake to buy tickets Thursday said the day was very unusual because it marked the end of the 48-year ownership of the Dodgers by the O'Malley family.

``It is kind of sad to see the O'Malleys go,'' said Jay Nakagawa, a 26-year-old sales executive from Los Angeles. ``A lot of the family-owned teams are gone now.''

Longtime Dodgers fan Herman Kottenbach was realistic about the deal.

``A single family can't run it anymore,'' said Kottenbach, 80, of North Hollywood. ``Sure, Murdoch is a big outfit and they want money out of it. But someone has to pay the players, who also want a lot of money.''

If that's reality's bite, many fans still don't want things to change. Dodger Stadium is different from the rest, fans say. The ballpark is still relatively free of the ads that wallpaper venues in other major cities. Organ music, not rock tunes, whips up the crowd. And so far, there are no luxury boxes hogging the best seats.

``You kind of hope that it is not going to become commercial like everywhere else,'' said Debra Washington, a season-ticket holder from North Hollywood.

Dodgers officials said Thursday that the sale will not affect ticket and parking prices this season. General admission this season is staying the same, while some other tickets are increasing in a hike approved before the sale, Stockhamer said.

Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan joined the chorus.

``I and the millions of Angelenos who are my fellow Dodger fans look forward to a continuation of the Dodger tradition of professionalism, sportsmanship, community involvement and fan appreciation,'' Riordan said.

The stadium itself is in store for a few improvements, but officials said the work was approved before the sale.

As part of the plan, murals featuring Dodgers players will be painted on outside walls of the stadium. Inside the park, several new out-of-town scoreboards will be installed.

City News Service contributed to this story.