Abbott’s Return Pleases Fans : Baseball: Pitcher, who had been one of the most popular players on the team, should boost Angels’ attendance figures as well as won-loss record.

A poster of Jim Abbott and Mark Langston still hangs in the garage of the Tuerffs family’s Yorba Linda home. Gripping baseballs in their left hands, Langston and Abbott glare menacingly over a caption that reads “Say Your Prayers” in Gothic script.

Mark Tuerffs saw it as he arrived home from work Thursday and came to a pleasant realization.

“I walked in the house and told my wife, ‘Look on the wall out there, that poster is no longer invalid.’ ”

After 2 1/2 seasons elsewhere, Abbott Thursday returned to the Angels’ fold and longtime fans such as Tuerffs are ecstatic.

Abbott, a crowd-favorite during his first stint with the Angels, from 1989 to 1992, returns at a time when fan interest appears to be building again. The Angels are in first place and lead the majors in scoring.

“As if there wasn’t enough excitement with the way the season is going,” said Tuerffs, 38, a season-ticket holder since 1978. “This is fabulous.”

Angel fans reached Thursday echoed such comments. The move to trade for a quality pitcher was lauded as a sign the team’s front office is serious about winning.

The fact that the pitcher was Abbott was a nice bonus.

“I think this addition is going to be paramount for the Angels’ success,” said George Stubblefield, 38, another season-ticket holder from Yorba Linda. “Just perfect.”

Stubblefield said Abbott should have never left. Abbott was traded in 1992 after contract negotiations broke down. Stubblefield said at the time he was upset with Abbott for asking for “too much, too soon.”

All is forgiven.

“This is where he should have stayed and should have been the whole time,” Stubblefield said. “He didn’t belong in New York. He didn’t belong in Chicago. Give me a break.

“He was just a player there and he’s more than just a player with the Angels, and I think he knows it in his heart.”

Al Genovese, who owns Ristorante Genovese in Orange, has held season tickets at Anaheim Stadium since the franchise moved from Los Angeles in 1966. Informed by phone that Abbott is back, Genovese called out the news to diners in his restaurant.

Genovese, 69, said he believes Abbott will help in the victory column and at the turnstiles.

“Are you kidding? I think you could add another 15,000 fans when he pitches. Who knows, if he does really well it could be even better,” he said.

Ken Hutton, a lifelong fan who works as an Anaheim Stadium usher, said the addition could put the Angels over the hump.

“He was a good pitcher before, the team just never scored for him,” said Hutton, 45, of Anaheim. “This team will score runs for him.

“I think we are going to see a World Series here. I really believe it.”