2002 Anaheim Angels season

The 2002 Anaheim Angels season was the franchise's 42nd, and it ended with the team's first American League pennant and World Series championship.
The Angels finished the regular season with a record of 99–63, 4 games behind the Oakland Athletics in the American League West standings, but qualified for the franchise's first ever wild card playoff berth to return to the postseason for the first time since 1986. Outfielder Garret Anderson led the team with 123 runs batted in and a.539 slugging percentage, was selected for the AL All-Star team, and won the Silver Slugger Award. Jarrod Washburn went 18-6 with a 3.15 earned run average to anchor a pitching staff that allowed the fewest runs in the league.
In the postseason, the Angels defeated the New York Yankees 3–1 in the ALDS, then defeated the Minnesota Twins 4–1 in the ALCS to win the AL pennant. The Angels then won the World Series in dramatic fashion when, with a 3–2 series deficit to the San Francisco Giants, they overcame a 5 run deficit in the late innings of Game 6 to force a winner-take-all Game 7, which they won to clinch the series 4–3. The morning after the win, The Orange County Register celebrated the Angels' win with the headline "7th Heaven," referring to the popular television series and fact that it took seven games for the Angels to win the World Series, and in doing so, it sent them to seventh heaven. Another highlight came in Game 2 when the Angels did not strike out at all, becoming the first team since both the 1960 Pirates and 1960 Yankees to avoid striking out in a postseason game. This feat wouldn't be repeated until the 2024 Mets did so in Game 5 of the 2024 NLCS against the Dodgers.
2002 was also notable as the season in which the Angels debuted their present-day uniforms, colors, and halo insignia, which replaced the widely ridiculed "periwinkle" uniforms and "winged" insignia they had worn since 1997. It was also the last season the team was owned by The Walt Disney Company, which sold its controlling interest in the team to present-day owner Arte Moreno in 2003.

Off season

The Anaheim Angels focus in the off season leading up to the 2002 season was on how to improve the Angels from the 2001 season when they finished 41 games behind the Seattle Mariners in the AL West.

Off season transactions

January 4, 2002: Aaron Sele was signed as a free agent with the Anaheim Angels.
January 31, 2002: Donne Wall was signed as a free agent with the Anaheim Angels.
February 4, 2002: Erick Aybar was signed as a free agent with the Anaheim Angels.
February 7, 2002: Clay Bellinger was signed as a free agent with the Anaheim Angels.

Spring training

The Anaheim Angels' '2002' spring training took place at Tempe Diablo Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. The Angels spring training record was 17-15.

Spring training transactions

March 16, 2002: Julio Ramirez was signed as a free agent with the Anaheim Angels.

Record vs. opponents

Month	Games	Won	Lost	Pct.
March	1	0	1
April	24	11	13
May	26	19	7
June	29	17	12
July	26	16	10
August	29	18	11
September	27	18	9
Totals	162	99	63

2002 draft

The 2002 Major League Baseball draft was held on June 4–5.

Roster

Regular season transactions

July 31, 2002: Alex Ochoa was traded by the Milwaukee Brewers with Sal Fasano to the Anaheim Angels for players to be named later and Jorge Fábregas. The Anaheim Angels sent Johnny Raburn and Pedro Liriano to the Milwaukee Brewers to complete the trade.

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos. = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player	Pos	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
Garret Anderson	LF	158	638	195	.306	29	123
David Eckstein	SS	152	608	178	.293	8	63
Darin Erstad	CF	150	625	177	.283	10	73
Brad Fullmer	DH	130	429	124	.289	19	59
Troy Glaus	3B	156	569	142	.250	30	111
Adam Kennedy	2B	144	474	148	.312	7	52
Bengie Molina	C	122	428	105	.245	5	47
Tim Salmon	RF	138	483	138	.286	22	88
Scott Spiezio	1B	153	491	140	.285	12	82

Other batters

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player	Pos	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
Jorge Fábregas	C	35	88	17	.193	0	8
José Molina	C	29	70	19	.271	0	5
Shawn Wooten	1B/DH	49	113	33	.292	3	19
Julio Ramirez	CF/RF	29	32	9	.281	1	7
Orlando Palmeiro	LF/RF	110	263	79	.300	0	31
Alex Ochoa	RF	37	65	18	.277	2	10
Jeff DaVanon	OF	16	30	5	.167	1	4
José Nieves	2B/3B	45	97	28	.289	0	6
Benji Gil	1B/2B/SS	61	130	37	.285	3	20
Chone Figgins	2B	15	12	2	.167	0	1
Alfredo Amézaga	SS	12	13	7	.538	0	2
Clay Bellinger	1B	2	1	0	.000	0	0
Sal Fasano	C	2	1	0	.000	0	0

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Ramón Ortiz	32	217.1	15	9	3.77	162
Jarrod Washburn	32	206.0	18	6	3.15	139
Kevin Appier	32	188.1	7	7	3.92	132
Aaron Sele	26	160.0	8	9	4.89	82
John Lackey	18	108.1	9	4	3.66	69
Mickey Callaway	6	34.1	2	1	4.19	23

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
Scott Schoeneweis	54	118.0	9	8	0	4.88	65

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
Troy Percival	58	56.1	4	1	40	1.92	68
Ben Weber	63	78.0	7	2	7	2.54	43
Al Levine	52	63.2	4	4	5	4.24	40
Lou Pote	31	50.1	0	2	0	3.22	32
Brendan Donnelly	46	49.2	1	1	1	2.17	54
Scot Shields	29	49.0	5	3	0	2.20	30
Dennis Cook	37	24.0	1	1	0	3.38	13
Donne Wall	17	21.0	0	0	0	6.43	13
Mark Lukasiewicz	17	14.0	2	0	0	3.86	15
Matt Wise	7	8.1	0	0	0	3.24	6
Francisco Rodriguez	5	5.2	0	0	0	0.00	13

Postseason

With their 10-5 win over the Texas Rangers on Monday, September 26, 2002, the Angels clinched their first Wildcard berth. At this time, the Angels would be in the postseason for the first time since the 1986 season.

American League Division Series

The 2002 American League Division Series featured the Wild Card winner Anaheim Angels and the AL East champion New York Yankees. The series began on October 1, 2002 with the Angels splitting the first two games at Yankee Stadium. The Angels then proceeded to win the next two games, earning their ticket to the ALCS and winning their first postseason series in franchise history, ending New York's bid for a fifth consecutive World Series appearance.

Game One

October 1, 2002 at Yankee Stadium (I) in Bronx, NY

Game Two

October 2, 2002 at Yankee Stadium (I) in Bronx, NY

Game Three

October 4, 2002 at Edison International Field of Anaheim in Anaheim, CA

Game Four

October 5, 2002 at Edison International Field of Anaheim in Anaheim, CA

American League Championship Series

The 2002 American League Championship Series featured the Wild Card winner Anaheim Angels and the AL Central champion Minnesota Twins. The series began on October 8, 2002 with the Angels splitting the first two games at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. The Angels then went home where they won three straight at Edison Field to earn a spot in the 2002 World Series. Infielder Adam Kennedy was the ALCS MVP.

World Series

The 2002 World Series was the 98th edition of the Fall Classic, held from October 19–27, 2002. The series featured the American League champion Anaheim Angels defeating the National League champion San Francisco Giants, 4–3, to win the franchise's first ever World Series.
The series was notable as being the first time since the 1995 inception of the wild card in Major League Baseball that two wild card teams would vie for the title. It was also the fourth World Series played between two teams from California, and the first such series to not include the Oakland Athletics. It was also the last Series to be played in a full seven games until 2011.
The series was played as a best-of-seven playoff with a 2–3–2 site format. Barry Bonds of the Giants was almost elected World Series MVP before the Angels began their Game 6 comeback; the award would be presented the following night to Troy Glaus of the Angels for his role in that comeback.

Game One

October 19, 2002 at Edison International Field of Anaheim in Anaheim, CA

Game Two

October 20, 2002 at Edison International Field of Anaheim in Anaheim, CA

Game Three

Tuesday, October 22, 2002 at Pacific Bell Park in San Francisco

Game Four

October 23, 2002 at Pacific Bell Park in San Francisco

Game Five

Thursday, October 24, 2002 at Pacific Bell Park in San Francisco

Game Six

October 26, 2002 at Edison International Field of Anaheim in Anaheim, CA

Game Seven

October 27, 2002 at Edison International Field of Anaheim in Anaheim, CA

Bracket

The American League champion had home field advantage during the World Series.

Note: Major League Baseball's playoff format automatically seeds the Wild Card team 4th. Normally, the No. 1 seed plays the No. 4 seed in the Division Series. However, MLB does not allow the No. 1 seed to play the 4th seed/Wild Card winner in the Division Series if they are from the same division, instead having the No. 1 seed play the next lowest seed, the No. 3 seed.

Awards and honors

2002 Anaheim Angels

2003 Outstanding Team ESPY Award

Troy Glaus

World Series MVP

Adam Kennedy

ALCS MVP

Tim Salmon

Hutch Award

Garret Anderson

All-Star
Silver Slugger Award
#4 in AL in RBI

Darin Erstad

Gold Glove Award

Bengie Molina

Gold Glove Award

Mike Scioscia

AL Manager of the Year Award

73rd Major League Baseball All-Star Game

Outfielders

Pos	#	Player	League	AB	H	RBI
LF	16		American League	4	0	1

Coaches

#	Coach	League	Position
14		American League	Coach

Local media

Local television

Local TV Channel	Play–by–play	Color Commentator	Studio Host
KCAL–TV 9	Steve Physioc	Rex Hudler

Local cable television

Local Cable TV Channel	Play–by–play	Color Commentator	Studio Host
Fox Sports Net West	Steve Physioc	Rex Hudler

Local radio

Flagship Station	Play–by–play #1	Play–by–play #2	Color Commentator	Studio Host
KLAC–AM 570 KPLS–AM 830	Rory Markas	Terry Smith	Terry Smith Rory Markas

Some radio games carried on KPLS–AM 830 because of broadcast conflict with the Los Angeles Lakers of the.

Flagship Station	Play–by–play	Color Commentator	Studio Host
KTNQ–AM 1020	Ivan Lara	José Mota