2002 World Series

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vs.

2002 World Series (4-3)

Anaheim Angels (99-63, AL) over San Francisco Giants (95-66, NL)

BR 2002 World Series Summary

The first World Series to feature two wild card teams.

[edit] Overview

The Angels reached their first ever World Series in 2002. Gene Autry could only look down and smile as the organization he created overcame the ghosts of its playoff past to win the AL pennant. Just a season before, the Angels finished with a record of 75-87, but Mike Scioscia reversed the atmosphere. The club won 99 games in 2002, good enough to win the AL wild card. An ALDS victory over the Yankees and a five game series win against the Twins secured the Angels berth into the fall classic.

Anaheim faced a fellow California team in the World Series: the San Francisco Giants. Barry Bonds was making history with his home runs, and his team was hunting for the city's first ever World Series title. San Francisco won 95 games and the wild card. It was a west coast series between two wild card teams that is not to be forgotten. Four games were decided by a run each. The teams combined to slug 21 dingers in the seven game set. Ultimately, not even a monster series from Bonds could deliver the Giants a title, as the Angels from southern California took home the trophy.

[edit] The Teams

Managers: Giants: Dusty Baker | Angels: Mike Scioscia

Angels

Anaheim had a roster packed with true Angels. Tim Salmon, Garret Anderson, Darin Erstad, Troy Glaus, David Eckstein, and Bengie Molina were all players in the starting lineup who had never suited up for a major league team other than the Angels. Brad Fullmer, Scott Spiezio, and Adam Kennedy were the only starters who had experienced playing for other clubs. The offense pounded out 851 runs thanks in large part to a .282 club batting average. Glaus led the team with 30 home runs.

Jarrod Washburn was the staff ace with 18 wins and a 3.15 ERA. Ramon Ortiz was a 15 game winner, while veteran Kevin Appier led the staff in experience. John Lackey was a rookie in 2002, but showed plenty of promise by winning 9 games with a 3.66 ERA. The team's greatest asset was its bullpen. Troy Percival saved 40 games with a 1.92 ERA. Ben Weber and Brendan Donnelly were valuable middle men, and rookie Francisco Rodriguez was electric in the ALDS against the Yankees.

Giants

Barry Bonds was not a player on the Giants, he was the Giants. He hit .370 with 46 home runs and 198 walks in 2002; one of baseball's greatest individual seasons. Jeff Kent was the other force in the lineup. The veteran second baseman hit .313 with 37 home runs. The rest of the lineup was comprised mostly of role players. Benito Santiago and J.T. Snow were sound defensive players, but were not feared as much at the plate. David Bell and Reggie Sanders hit 20 and 23 home runs respectively.

The Giants had a durable starting rotation. Jason Schmidt was the only pitcher in the rotation with ace calibur stuff, but Livan Hernandez, Russ Ortiz, and Kirk Rueter each pitched 200+ innings. Schmidt led the team with 196 strikeouts, while Rueter had the best ERA, 3.23. Like the Angels, the Giants had a sound bullpen. Robb Nen recorded 43 saves with a 2.20 ERA, while Tim Worrell posted a 2.25 ERA in 80 games.

[edit] Results

[edit] Game 1 @ Edison International Field

Sat, Oct 19th - Anaheim, CA

Giants: 4, Angels: 3

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Giants	0	2	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	4	6	0
Angels	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	3	9	0
WP: Schmidt (1-0), LP: Washburn (0-1), SV: Nen (1)

Attendance: 44,603

Jason Schmidt was always known for his untapped potential. He came up with the Braves in 1995 spent time with the Pittsburgh Pirates and finally found his way to San Francisco. His wicked stuff opened eyes, but never translated in the stat books. That all began to change in 2002. The powerful right-hander won 13 games and posted a 3.45 ERA. The Giants gave Scmidt the ball for the first game of the 2002 World Series. He may not have dealt his best stuff, but he was able to deliver the Giants a win.

San Francisco scored the first runs of the series in the top of the second. Barry Bonds ripped a pitch from Jarrod Washburn into the seats for a home run to lead off the inning. One out later, Reggie Sanders made the score 2-0 with a solo blast. The superstar and the mercenary each homered in their first at bats of the series. The Angels made the score 2-1 behind a home run from Troy Glaus in the bottom of the second inning. Bonds and Glaus became the 26th and 27th players to hit home runs in their first ever World Series plate appearances.

The Giants padded their lead in the top of the sixth inning when former Angel J.T. Snow hit a two run homer. Down 4-1, the Angels chased Schmidt from the mound in the bottom of the sixth. Glaus led off the frame with a home run. Brad Fullmer walked and then advanced to second on a ground out. Adam Kennedy drove Fullmer home with a base hit. Scmidt left the game ahead 4-3, Felix Rodriguez replaced him on the mound.

The Angels were held hitless by Rodriguez, Tim Worrell, and Robb Nen. The Giants took the first game of the series by a score of 4-3. It was a game of firsts: Schmidt and Washburn both got decisions in their first World Series appearances, Bonds and Glaus homered in their first World Series at bats, and Tsuyoshi Shinjo became the first Japanese player to appear in the World Series.

[edit] Game 2 @ Edison International Field

Sun, Oct 20th - Anaheim, CA

Angels: 11, Giants: 10

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Giants	0	4	1	0	4	0	0	0	1	10	12	1
Angels	5	2	0	0	1	1	0	2	-	11	16	1
WP: Fr. Rodriguez (1-0), LP: Fe. Rodriguez (0-1), SV: Percival (1)

Attendance: 44,584

The Angels drafted Tim Salmon in the third round of the 1989 amateur draft. Four years later, he was named Rookie of the Year. Injuries dampened what otherwise was a great career. The "King Fish" was consistently one of the league's best hitters when he was healthy. He provided Angels fans with a lot of memories, but few as important as the one he created on October 20th, 2002.

Russ Ortiz started the game for the Giants, but did not last long. The Angels smacked six hits off of Ortiz in the bottom of the first inning, and Brad Fullmer stole home. San Francisco was quickly down 5-0. They answered right back with four runs against Kevin Appier. Three runs came on a home run from Reggie Sanders, and the other was a David Bell solo homer. Tim Salmon hit his first home run of the night in the bottom of the second inning on a pitch from Ortiz; the score was now 7-4. Chad Zerbe came in to relieve Ortiz.

Jeff Kent started off the third inning with a solo home run against Appier. John Lackey relieved the veteran on the mound. The score remained 7-5 until the Giants put up four runs in the fifth inning. Rich Aurilia started the rally with a double. J.T. Snow drove in two runs with a bases loaded single. Singles by David Bell and Shawon Dunston drove in the other two runs. Scott Spiezio drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fifth to cut the Giants' lead to 9-8. The Angels tied it up in the sixth on an RBI single from Garret Anderson.

The Angels reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the eighth on a two run blast from Salmon. Salmon's second dinger of the night put Anaheim ahead for good. Barry Bonds ripped a 485 foot home run off of Percival in the ninth, but it was not enough. The Angels beat the Giants 11-10 in a thriller.

[edit] Game 3 @ PacBell Park

Tues, Oct 22nd - San Francisco, CA

Angels: 10, Giants: 4

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Angels	0	0	4	4	0	1	0	1	0	10	16	0
Giants	1	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	4	6	2
WP: Ortiz (1-0), LP: Hernandez (0-1)

Attendance: 42,707

Livan Hernandez was the hero of the 1997 World Series, but he could not deliver in 2002. The Angels beat the Cuban defector like a drum. For the first time all series, the Angels did not hit a home run. They logged 10 runs with timely hitting--something the Giants struggled with. The only show at PacBell Park that giants fans could enjoy was a home run from Barry Bonds.

The Giants took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning on a ground out by Benito Santiago that scored Kenny Lofton. The Angels mounted a charge in the third inning. David Eckstein walked and Darin Erstad doubled. An error by David Bell allowed Tim Salmon to reach safely and scored Eckstein. Troy Glaus singled to drive in Erstad. A Scott Spiezio triple knocked Salmon and Glaus across the plate to give the Angels a 4-0 lead. The fifth run came on a Garret Anderson ground out in the top of the fourth. With a runner on third and two outs in inning, Dusty Baker pulled Hernandez and brought in Jay Witasick. Witasick walked Glaus and gave up a single to Spiezio that scored the sixth run. Adam Kennedy smacked a single off of Witasick's arm to score one more, and a Benjie Molina base hit gave the Angels an 8-1 lead heading to the bottom of the fourth.

Ramon Ortiz pitched strongly through four innings, but was tagged by the long ball in the fifth. Rich Aurilia hit the first home run of the inning. Jeff Kent singled to bring up Bonds. The slugger clubbed a two run home run to become the first player since Hank Bauer in 1958 to homer in the first three games of the World Series. The score was now 8-4, but the Giants were not meant to win on this night. A cold wind and rain dampened the spirits of PacBell's capacity crowd.

Eckstein hit an RBI single in the sixth and Molina scored in the eighth to put the Halos ahead 10-4. Scott Schoeneweis recorded the final six outs to put the game in the books. The first ever World Series game in PacBell park did not go to plan. The Angels had a 2-1 edge in the series.

[edit] Game 4 @ PacBell Park

Wed, Oct 23rd - San Francisco, CA

Giants: 4, Angels: 3

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Angels	0	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	10	1
Giants	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	1	-	4	12	1
WP: Worrell (1-0), LP: Rodriguez (1-1), SV: Nen (2)

Attendance: 42,703

After two high scoring games, the offenses settled down for the fourth game. Francisco Rodriguez was the hero of the ALDS, but took a loss on this Wednesday night in San Francisco. After getting burned by Barry Bonds in the previous three games, Mike Scioscia's Angels walked the lefty home run champ three times in game four. The result was the Giants' first homerless game of the series. But like the Angels the night before, San Francisco won with clutch hitting.

Bonds came up in the first inning with one out and runners on first and second. Angels starter John Lackey chose to walk Bonds to bring up Benito Santiago. It was a smart choice. Santiago hit into a double play to end the inning. The Angels scored in the top of the second on a David Eckstein sacrifice fly that scored Benjie Molina. They scored two more in the third on a Troy Glaus home run. The Angels had a 3-0 lead on Kirk Rueter and the Giants.

Lackey pitched well through four innings in his first World Series start, but ran into serious trouble in the fifth. Rueter hit an infield single, Kenny Lofton got a bunt single, Rich Aurilia knocked in Rueter with a base hit, Jeff Kent drove in Lofton on a sacrifice, Bonds walked, and Santiago drove in a run with a single. Four singles, a walk, and a sacrifice earned the Giants three runs and tied the game at 3-3 after five innings.

The game remained that way until the eighth. J.T. Snow singled and then took second on a passed ball. David Bell drove him home with a base knock to center field. That was all the Giants needed off of Rodriguez to take a 4-3 lead. Robb Nen pitched a scoreless ninth for his second save of the series. After four games, the Giants and Angels were even at 2-2.

[edit] Game 5 @ PacBell Park

Thu, Oct 24th - San Francisco, CA

Giants: 16, Angels: 4

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Angels	0	0	0	0	3	1	0	0	0	4	10	2
Giants	3	3	0	0	0	2	4	4	-	16	16	0
WP: Zerbe (1-0), LP: Washburn (0-2)

Attendance: 42,713

It took Jeff Kent ten years to reach his first World Series, but he made up for lost time in game five. The aging second baseman hit two homers and drove in four runs in a pounding of the Angels. The game would be mostly remembered for J.T. Snow saving Dusty Baker's son, Darren, from a collision at the plate.

Jarrod Washburn clearly did not have his best stuff. The Giants attacked in the first inning. A single and a walk left men on base for Barry Bonds. With a lefty on the mound, the Angels elected pitch to Bonds rather than walk him. Bonds ripped a double that scored Kenny Lofton. Benito Santiago scored Kent on a sacrifice fly. A bases loaded walk to David Bell scored the final run of the inning. The Giants had a 3-0 lead after the first. Santiago singled with the bases loaded in the second inning to drive in a pair and Reggie Sanders drove in the Giants' sixth run with a sacrifice fly.

Jason Schmidt pitched well for four innings, but fell apart in the top of the fifth. A double, single, and a sacrifice scored the Angels' first run. Schmidt threw a wild pitch, allowing the second run to score, and Troy Glaus doubled in the final run of the inning. Scmidt left with only two outs in the top of the fifth, making him ineligible for the decision. The Angels tacked on a fourth run in the top of the sixth on a David Eckstein ground out.

The Giants continued to pour on runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. Kent hit a two run blast to give the Giants a 8-4 lead. Kenny Lofton tripled in two runs in the seventh. Snow scored first on Lofton's hit. After crossing the plate, he noticed that Darren Baker was running to pick up Lofton's bat. Snow scooped up the young Baker by the jacket collar just before Bell came racing in. Baker could have been seriously hurt had he been in the middle of the play. The elder Baker could only watch from the dugout as the scare unfolded. Kent hit his second home run later in the seventh to put the Giants ahead 12-4. Two singles, an error, and a Rich Aurilia home run gave the Giants four more in the eighth inning. Scott Eyre pitched a perfect ninth, and San Francisco won 16-4.

[edit] Game 6 @ Edison International Field

Sat, Oct 26th - Anaheim, CA

Giants: 5, Angels: 6

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Giants	0	0	0	0	3	1	1	0	0	5	8	1
Angels	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	3	-	6	10	1
WP: Donnelly (1-0), LP: Worrell (1-1), SV: Percival (2)

Attendance: 44,506

San Francisco came ever so close to its first World Series title in game six, but a bullpen collapse left them a run short. Five run lead, eight outs to go. San Francisco fans will remember the last three innings of game six forever. As for Angel fans, Scott Spiezio will always have a special place in their hearts. Russ Ortiz and Kevin Appier were the starters, but the bullpens determined the outcome.

The game was scoreless through the first four innings. The Giants threatened in the first, putting runners on first and second, but were unable to capitalize. The Angels had just one hit in the first four innings. Shawon Dunston shook the doldrums in the fifth with a two run homer off of Appier. Kenny Lofton followed with a double. Mike Scioscia attempted to minimize the damage by bringing in his young bullpen whiz, Francisco Rodriguez. Lofton stole third, and then scored on a Rodriguez wild pitch. Already ahead 3-0, Barry Bonds added to the Giants' lead with a titanic solo home run in the sixth inning. Jeff Kent made the lead 5-0 with an RBI single in the top of the seventh.

Ortiz was still pitching for the Giants in the seventh inning. Through six innings, he had given up just two hits. Garret Anderson grounded out to start the bottom of the seventh, but Troy Glaus and Brad Fullmer followed with singles. Felix Rodriguez replaced Ortiz on the mound and immediately gave up a three run home run to Spiezio. The Angel crowd was reinvigorated; it was a game again. Scott Eyre and Tim Worrell finished up the seventh without any more damage.

Darin Erstad led off the bottom of the eighth with a home run against Worrell. Tim Salmon singled and was replaced on the bases by Chone Figgins. Garret Anderson followed with a base hit, poor fielding by Bonds allowed Anderson to take second base. With runners on second and third and one out, Dusty Baker turned to his closer, Robb Nen. Nen gave up a two run double to Glaus, the Angels took a 6-5 lead. Troy Percival nailed down the save. The series was headed to game seven.

[edit] Game 7 @ Edison International Field

Sun, Oct 27th - Anaheim, CA

Angels: 4, Giants: 1

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Giants	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	6	0
Angels	0	1	3	0	0	0	0	0	-	4	5	0
WP: Lackey (1-0), LP: Hernandez (0-2), SV: Percival (3)

Attendance: 44,598

As is often the case, the Giants were not able to bounce back from their epoch game six collapse. The wind was stolen from their sails. The Giants started Livan Hernandez in game seven, while the Angels gave the ball to rookie John Lackey. Lackey started on only three days rest because Ramon Ortiz had a sore wrist. Lackey was the first rookie pitcher since Babe Adams in 1909 to start and win game seven of a World Series.

The Giants scored their first and only run of the game in the second inning on a Reggie Sanders sacrifice fly. The Angels answered right back in the bottom of the frame. Hernandez walked Scott Spiezio and then gave up a run scoring double to Benjie Molina. The Angels scored three more in the bottom of the third. David Eckstein and Darin Erstad singled, Tim Salmon was hit by a pitch, and Garret Anderson drove in all three runners with a double. Anderson tried to score the fourth run of the inning, but was thrown out at home by David Bell.

Lackey pitched five strong innings. He gave up four hits, one run, one walk, and four strikeouts. He was replaced by Brendan Donnelly who pitched two scoreless innings. Hernandez only gave the Giants two innings and gave up four runs on four hits and four walks. Francisco Rodriguez pitched a scoreless eighth for the Angels, and Troy Percival picked up his third save of the series in the ninth. The Giants picked up only six hits and struck out 10 times in the game.

The Angels celebrated in front of a loud Anaheim crowd. The Angel fans were a factor all series as they clapped with inflated "thunder stix". The items became popular at sporting events across the nation. Another feature of the series was the Angels' "Rally Monkey". A monkey wearing an Angels jersey that danced on the video board. San Francisco's quest for a World Series would carry on, unresolved.