Ten Favorite World Series: 2002 World Series (#10)
By Four Walls
@FourWalls (86812)
United States
November 1, 2017 6:25pm CST
As I threatened/promised earlier today, I'm going to count down my favorite World Series that have happened in my lifetime. That means no Black Sox scandal, no Don Larson perfect game, since I wasn't born then. Actually, this list only goes back to my conscious memory, not "what I read," so no 1966 Series sweep of the Dodgers by the Orioles. No, I remember all of these series, and quite well. Here's the first series on the list.
#10: 2002: Giants/Angels
The so-called "Dusty Baker curse" began in earnest in this series. As manager of the San Francisco Giants, the Giants were up three games to two going back to Anaheim for the final two games of the series. Worse (for them), they were up 5-0 going into the 7th inning of game six.
They lost game six, 6-5, as the Angels and that "Rally Monkey" got three in the 7th and three in the 8th. The Angels had game seven from the get-go, winning 4-1, with the only Giants run coming on a sacrifice fly.
The series, like this current one that'll sadly end tonight (because it's been a barn-burner...trust me, this year's is on the list!), was loaded with high-scoring games, too. In game five, when the Giants went up by a game, they knocked the cover off the ball, winning 16-4. An earlier game in the series had the Angels win, 11-10 (the score was 5-4 after an inning and a half, so that was no real surprise).
This was the only World Series (to date) for the California / Los Angeles / Anaheim / Los Angeles of Anaheim / whatever they'll be next year Angels. They had my rooting interest not just because they were playing the Giants, but because they were owned by legendary cowboy actor, singing star, and Country Music Hall of Fame member Gene Autry. Autry died in 1998, so he never got to see his beloved team's greatest success. However, the team knew he was there in spirit and dedicated the win to "the Cowboy."
2002 World Series
San Francisco Giants (NL) / Anaheim Angels (AL)
Winner: Angels, 4 games to 3
Best game: game six (Angels won, 6-5)
Who I was pulling for: Angels
The final out:
10/28/02: Troy Percival shuts the door and the Anaheim Angels are the 2002 World Champions Check out http://MLB.com/video for more! About MLB.com: About MLB....
4 people like this
5 responses
@dgobucks226 (37621)
•
3 Nov 17
That was a good one! Surprising with so much money behind them an excellent manager they never got back to another World Series 
2 people like this
@JohnRoberts (109841)
• Los Angeles, California
2 Nov 17
There was such joy when the Angels won. My dad's favorite team. LA's local AL team. Bonds was denied a ring. Remember Tim Salmon raising a hat to the old cowboy when they won.
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@TheHorse (238347)
• Walnut Creek, California
8 Oct 18
This was one of the "low points" of my baseball rooting career. Although I spent my formative years in Chicago (sneaking into blues clubs, hanging out with people who knew John Prine and Steve Goodman, etc.), my BASEBALL formative years were spent in the San Francisco Bay Area. My early (when I still might wet the bed occasionally) heroes were people like Willie Mays, Juan Marichal, and Gaylord Perry. 2002 was tough for me, but I remember being somewhat dispassionate. I was NOT a big Barry Bonds fan.
1 person likes this
@teamfreak16 (43648)
• Denver, Colorado
5 Nov 17
I am soooo far behind. I do remember this one. I was rooting for the Angels.
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