Still the Apple of Polonia’s Eye : Angels: The outfielder is happy to return to Yankee Stadium as a .300 hitter.

He lives in Southern California, but home for Luis Polonia is New York, where his family and heart reside and where the dream he lived all too briefly lures him back.

Polonia’s visit to New York this week, his first since the Yankees traded him for pitcher Rich Monteleone and outfielder Claudell Washington in April, evoked a torrent of memories for the 25-year-old outfielder. Although he’s thriving with the Angels, hitting .312 with 29 runs batted in and 14 stolen bases in 94 games, he hasn’t relinquished his hope of eventually returning to New York to stay.

“Definitely I’ll be back here one day. I don’t want to die without doing that,” said Polonia, who was hitless Monday in the Angels’ series-opening 7-0 victory over the Yankees.

“I started something here, and I hope to finish. I hope the time comes when I’m welcome. They didn’t want me here before, but I’ll do whatever possible to get back. It won’t be next year, two years or three years. It will be when I have a name for myself and they can’t mess around with me. When I make a name for myself, I’ll be back.”

As a Yankee, Polonia enjoyed his first .300 season and lived in the comfortable cocoon created by his friends and relatives, some of whom live three blocks from Yankee Stadium in the Bronx.

“There are a whole lot of Latin people here, so I can go ahead all day with my Spanish and not use my English,” said Polonia, who was born in the Dominican Republic and was first immersed in an English-speaking world when he played for the Madison (Wis.) Muskies of the Class-A Midwest League in 1984.

“Latin people, we are close, maybe too close,” he said. “It’s not like here, where you can’t wait to be 18 and live by yourself. Latin people live with their families until they get married. It’s very different.”

But it was as a Yankee last season that he experienced the taunts of fans who needled him about his conviction on charges of having sexual relations with a teen-age girl in Milwaukee, which led to his serving a jail term and probation. And it was as a Yankee that he experienced the hurt of being platooned and later ignored because of his so-so defensive skills.

“Whatever happens in that organization, it’s hard for me to understand,” said Polonia, who began his career with the Oakland Athletics and was traded to the Yankees on June 21, 1989, with Greg Cadaret and Eric Plunk for Rickey Henderson. “I’d like to know why, if they don’t like me and I was so bad in the outfield, why didn’t they work with me? I can think of a lot of outfielders worse than me in the major leagues. There’s a lot on their team (the Yankees).

“But when they didn’t like me, I know there were a lot of teams that would love to have me and that somebody would try to get me out of here, and they did. I’m happy to be out.”

He was happiest about returning to New York as a .300 hitter and a semi-regular in the Angels’ lineup. He usually sits against left-handed pitchers--he’s 12 for 44 (.273) against left-handers and 80 for 251 (.319) against right-handers--but he did deliver the tiebreaking RBI single against Texas left-hander Brad Arnsberg in a 9-2 Angel victory last Wednesday. His enthusiasm and ability to create havoc on the basepaths long ago won the approval of Angel Manager Doug Rader.

“I wish everybody enjoyed playing as much as he does,” said Rader, who characterized Polonia’s outfield technique as “not the smoothest,” but finds no fault with Polonia’s instincts in the field. “He does it the right way and he isn’t afraid to show he enjoys it. He has a reckless abandon and is fearless in many ways and I admire that very much.”

Polonia hoped the Yankees would regret having to face him in this series.

“My heart is beating faster,” he said. “All I want to do is be out there. I want to play 27 innings every day.

“What feels greatest is to go out and play and see my average on the scoreboard, so they can see what they let go. I always said they would regret trading me and it’s nice to come here and let them see my average is not .220. They know now what they let go and when they’re going to make a move now, maybe they’re going to think two or three times.

“It’s not just me--they let so many good ballplayers go and they would have had a super team if they didn’t. You’ve got to let a guy play and do what he’s supposed to do.”

He would like the chance next season to play every day for the Angels.

“I’d love to get enough at-bats,” he said. “I’m pretty sure I don’t want to platoon. I think I’ve already been platooning too long and I have enough numbers so I should be out there every day. Next year can be a better year. I know I’m in their plans for 1991 and in their future. I wasn’t in the Yankees’ plans. I knew last year I wasn’t in the Yankees’ plans for this year.”

His immediate plans include taking his parents and brother back to stay with him in California.

“I’m going to try to make California my home and feel comfortable there,” he said. “I’ll get a house one day, so why not bring them over there and make a home for everybody?”

Even if it’s a home away from the place Polonia will always consider his real home.