Heavens! Angels Are a Hot Ticket in O.C. : Baseball: Despite Tuesday’s loss, Halos are putting fans in their place--in stadium seats.

ANAHEIM — On opening day, two $11 tickets for the California Angels game at Anaheim Stadium could be had for a measly $1 each at game time. After a winter of discontent in which the Angels traded their most popular player, pitcher Jim Abbott, even ticket scalpers felt the wrath of the disgruntled fans.

Since then, the Angels have won 12 of 17 games and have impressed their skeptical followers with their start, and their position atop the American League West standings, seem to have brought the fans back.

About two hours before the Angels were to play the New York Yankees Tuesday night--they wound up on the short end of a 5-0 score--there were fans lined 20 deep at the ticket windows.

This after the Angels drew 130,652 to a three-game series sweep of the Boston Red Sox over the weekend. The average of 43,551 was almost as high as the total for the previous three-game series against the Cleveland Indians. And the walk-up crowd for Saturday night’s 8-5 Angels victory was 16,948, believed to be the largest in the club’s 33 years.

Over the years, a walk-up of 10,000 was considered “great,” said Tim Mead, Angels assistant vice president, media relations.

Although their season-ticket sales are down 2,200 this season, the Angels have drawn about 10,000 more fans than at the same point last year. They are averaging 26,664.

What gives? Is all forgiven?

To be sure, the attractiveness of an opponent such as Boston and an Angels cap giveaway to the first 50,000 fans helped boost the total on Saturday night. But winning sure hasn’t hurt.

Marlene Sharlow, a longtime fan from Anaheim, has noticed a new attitude on the field and in the stands.

“I didn’t give up on them (over the winter),” said Sharlow, who has missed only two home games in the last 16 years. “What’s helping is that they have a lot of faith in themselves.”

And that seems to have rubbed off on the fans, who drowned out the many Red Sox faithful who came to Anaheim Stadium.

“That’s unusual,” Sharlow said. “I was glad to see that.”

The Yankees traditionally are another good draw for the Angels, and that will only be further helped by Abbott’s first appearance since the December trade that sent the left-handed pitcher to New York and brought rookie first baseman J.T. Snow and two pitchers to Anaheim.

Tuesday’s crowd was 24,261, and about 40,000 are expected to watch Abbott face the Angels’ Mark Langston tonight.

The fans certainly haven’t forgotten Abbott, but they seem to have embraced Snow, the son of former Los Angeles Ram wide receiver Jack Snow and a graduate of Los Alamitos High School, in much the same manner.

Standing in line to buy tickets to Tuesday’s game was Jeff Thompson of La Crescenta, who said he felt “betrayed” by the Abbott trade. But he said he likes the way Snow fields and especially the way he hits.

“He’s having a heck of a year,” Thompson said.

Snow’s batting average, in the high .300s, has captured the fans’ imagination like no rookie since Abbott or Wally Joyner, whose outstanding first season in 1986 turned Anaheim Stadium into Wally World.

Thompson spent the day at the beach in Orange County, then decided to make a detour on the way home to catch Tuesday’s game. It was his first chance to see this season’s team in person.

“They’ve got a lot of young kids now,” he said. “Chili Davis is a good influence. He’s holding everything together. And Buck Rodgers is a good manager, too. He won’t let their heads get too big.”

Not far away, Jose Corona and David Solis stood waiting for the gates to open to get their first look at the 1993 Angels.

“They’ve had pretty bad luck, but I think this is their year,” Corona said.

Solis nodded in agreement. “This is going to be their year,” he said.

Bob Williams of Victorville and his friend, Chris Anocibar of Ontario, drove a long way to watch Tuesday’s game. Williams, an Angels fan, has been pleasantly surprised by their winning ways while Anocibar, a Yankees fan, wondered whether his team had indeed got the best of the Abbott-Snow deal.

“They’re already doing better than I thought they would,” Williams said. “At first, I was real disappointed by what they got in return (for Abbott).”

Said Anocibar: “I wasn’t. The Yankees needed pitching.”

Neither knew much of Snow before the season, but each admires his play.

As for Abbott, he said it felt a little strange walking into Anaheim Stadium as an opponent for the first time.

“I don’t know what kind of reaction I’ll get,” Abbott said. “I know they (the Angels) are going good right now. It will be a special night. I always have great memories of the fans here. Hopefully, they won’t be too hard on me (tonight).”

Not a chance, the fans say.

“I thought (Tuesday) was a good chance to see the Angels,” Thompson said. “I guess (tonight) would have been the better night to come, with Abbott pitching. But I don’t get . . . down here too often.”