ALBUQUERQUE — The man in the old Dodgers cap stood with his hands in his pockets.
For an hour, Michael Maldonado waited, staring at the closed windows of the box office. The 51-year-old utility worker said he missed work Monday morning to be first in line. By the time the windows opened at 8 a.m., 14 people were behind him.
"It's a big deal," Maldonado said.
For $18, Maldonado was able to secure two passes to witness what he described as a once-in-a-lifetime event: Manny Ramirez playing for Maldonado's hometown Albuquerque Isotopes.
Maldonado isn't bothered about why Ramirez is here. Yes, Maldonado knows the Dodgers outfielder was suspended for violating baseball's drug policy and has to play in some minor league games to prepare for an anticipated return to the major league lineup on July 3.
"He's a big-time player," Maldonado said. "I'm very overwhelmed."
Nearby, John Traub smiled.
The general manager of the Dodgers' triple-A affiliate, Traub has been involved in minor league baseball for 17 years. He said he has never seen anything like the hysteria that overtook Albuquerque when news broke that Ramirez could be headed its way.
"Not in the least," Traub said.
Team spokesman Steve Hurlbert said the Isotopes have sold more than 40,000 tickets for their four-game series against the Nashville Sounds that starts today and ends Friday.
The team has averaged 7,715 fans per home game this season.
The club says each of the 11,124 permanent seats at Isotopes Park will be filled for the game tonight, the first of as many as four that Ramirez could play with the Isotopes. With the availability of tickets for grass seating behind the right-field wall, the Isotopes are expecting a crowd of 14,000 to 15,000.
Wednesday and Thursday could also be sellouts. Friday could be close.
(Class-A Inland Empire, Ramirez's next expected stop, has already sold out its game Sunday and is close to selling out its game Monday.)
This is without any official word of Ramirez's plans beyond tonight. His tentative schedule calls for him to play in the first three games of the series against Nashville, according to baseball sources familiar with the situation who weren't authorized to discuss the matter.
Ramirez is expected to return to Los Angeles on Friday, hit at Dodger Stadium on Saturday and complete his minor league tour with two or three games with the Inland Empire 66ers, who are based in San Bernardino.
