2002 Anaheim Angels: Rally Monkey

2002 Anaheim Angels: Rally Monkey

2002 Anaheim Angels: Rally Monkey

The early 2000’s saw the beginning of a popular trend in the sport of baseball, which would be the use of a symbol for rallying one’s favorite team in the late innings of a game. The Anaheim Angels had the Rally Monkey, who would pop up on the big screen and pump up Angels fans from the 7th inning on. The 2002 Anaheim Angels were a team built on rallying from behind, executing the small ball principles of manager Mike Sciosia.

The Angels went 99-63 in 2002, finishing in 2nd place in the American League West division, 4 games behind the Oakland Athletics. The Angels only went 9-11 against the Athletics and 9-10 against the Seattle Mariners, but did go 12-7 against the Texas Rangers.

Second baseman Adam Kennedy was the main catalyst of offensive production as he batted .312 with 148 hits, 32 doubles, 6 triples and 17 stolen bases. Left fielder Garret Anderson batted .306 with 29 home runs and 123 RBI’s off 195 hits and 56 doubles. Shortstop David Eckstein batted .293 with 178 hits, 22 doubles, 6 triples and 21 stolen bases. Designated Hitter Brad Fullmer batted .289 with 19 home runs, 124 hits, 35 doubles, 6 triples and 10 stolen bases.

Right fielder Tim Salmon batted .286 with 22 home runs and 88 RBI’s off 138 hits and 37 doubles. First baseman Scott Spiezio batted .285 with 12 home runs and 82 RBI’s off 140 hits and 34 doubles. Center fielder Darin Erstad batted .283 with 177 hits, 28 doubles and 23 stolen bases. Third baseman Troy Glaus had 30 home runs and 111 RBI’s off 142 hits and 24 doubles. Appearing in 110 games, reserve outfielder Orlando Palmeiro batted .300 with 79 hits, 12 doubles and 7 stolen bases.

Starting pitcher Ramon Ortiz went 159 with 162 strikeouts and a 3.77 ERA while recording 4 complete games and 1 shutout. Jarrod Washburn went 18-6 with 139 strikeouts and a 3.15 ERA while recording 1 complete game. Kevin Appier went 14-12 with 132 strikeouts and a 3.92 ERA. John Lackey went 9-4 with a 3.65 ERA, recording 1 complete game. Closer Troy Percival went 4-1 with 40 saves and a 1.92 ERA. Relief pitcher Ben Weber went 7-2 with 7 saves and a 2.54 ERA. Al Levine had 5 saves and Brendan Donnelly recorded a 2.17 ERA.

The Angels played the New York Yankees in the American League Division Series, and in Game 1 on October 1 at Yankee Stadium II, the Yankees beat the Angels 8-5. Shortstop Derek Jeter hit a solo home run in the bottom of the 1st inning, and after Tim Salmon had an RBI single in the top of the 3rd, Yankees first baseman Jason Giambi hit a 2-run home run in the bottom of the 4th. After Garret Anderson had a 2-run double in the top of the 5th, designated hitter Rondell White hit a solo home run in the bottom of the 5th. After Troy Glaus hit solo home runs in the top of the 6th and 8th innings, an RBI single by Giambi and a 3-run home run by center fielder Bernie Williams in the bottom of the 8th silenced the Angels.

The Angels came back to win Game 2 on October 2 by the score of 8-6. Salmon hit a solo home run in the top of the 1st, while Scott Spiezio hit his own solo home run in the top of the 2nd, which would be followed by an RBI single from second baseman Benji Gil. Spiezio then had an RBI single in the top of the 3rd, and after Jeter’s solo home run in the bottom of the 3rd, right fielder Juan Rivera had a 2-run single in the bottom of the 4th. Second baseman Alfonso Soriano then blasted a 2-run home run in the bottom of the 6th, but Anaheim rallied back. Anderson and Glaus both hit solo home runs in the top of the 8th while Spiezio had an RBI double in the top of the 9th.

Anaheim’s Edison Field hosted Game on October 4, which saw the Angels win 9-6. The Yankees quickly got started with a 2-run double by third baseman Robin Ventura and a sacrifice fly by catcher Jorge Posada in the top of the 1st, and after Spiezio’s RBI ground-out in the bottom of the 2nd, Ventura had a sacrifice fly and first baseman Nick Johnson and Rivera would both have RBI singles in the top of the 3rd. Salmon had a 2-run double in the bottom of the 3rd, Adam Kennedy hit a solo home run in the bottom of the 4th, the came back in the bottom of the 6th to have a sacrifice fly Spiezio had an RBI single in the bottom of the 7th, and then in the bottom of the 8th Darin Erstad had an RBI double and Salmon smoked a 2-run home run.

The Angels then took Game 4 on October 5 9-5. The action didn’t pick up until the bottom of the 5th inning when designated hitter Shawn Wooten hit a solo home run, and 5 RBI singles would follow off the bats of Erstad, Salmon, Anderson, Spiezio and Wooten. Catcher Bengie Molina topped off the offensive uproar with a 2-run double.

Getting past the Yankees 3 games to 1, the Angels then faced the Minnesota Twins in the American League Championship Series, and in Game 1 on October 8 at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, the Twins beat the Angels 2-1. Pitcher Joe Mays kept Anaheim’s offense in check, pitching 8 innings and giving up 4 hits and 1 run, but struck out 3 batters. Twins catcher A.J. Pierzynski hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 2nd, and though Erstad reached on an error to score Kennedy in the top of the 3rd, third baseman Corey Koskie had an RBI double for Minnesota in the bottom of the 5th.

The Angels came back to win Game 2 on October 9 by the score of 6-3. Erstad hit a solo home run in the top of the 1st. Spiezio then had an RBI double in the top of the 2nd, and he would later steal home plate as part of a double steal with Kennedy. David Eckstein then had an RBI single. In the top of the 6th Brad Fullmer crushed a 2-run home run.

Returning to Edison Field for Game 3 on October 11, the Angels won 2-1 behind Jarrod Washburn’s solid pitching performance. Washburn pitched 7 innings and gave up 5 hits and 1 run, but struck out 7 batters. Garret Anderson hit a solo home run in the bottom of the 2nd, and after left fielder Jacques Jones tied the game with an RBI double in the top of the 7th, Troy Glaus hit his own solo home run in the bottom of the 8th.

The Angels easily took Game 4 on October 12 by the score of 7-1. John Lackey pitched 7 innings and gave up 3 hits while recording 7 strikeouts. The offensive outburst started late as Glaus had an RBI single in the bottom of the 7th, followed by an RBI double from Spiezio, and then in the bottom of the 8th, Anderson had an RBI single, Fullmer had a 2-run double, and Molina had a 2-run triple.

Game 5 on October 13 featured plenty of offense as the Angels eliminated the Twins 15-3, winning the series 4 games to 1. Adam Kennedy rose to the occasion in this game as he hit a solo home run in the bottom of the 3rd, a solo home run in the bottom of the 5th, and a colossal 3-run home run in the bottom of the 7th.

The 2002 World Series was a battle between the Anaheim Angels and the National League Champion San Francisco Giants as it would take 7 games to determine a World Champion. The Giants beat the Angels 4-3 in Game 1 on October 19 at Edison Field. Left fielder Barry Bonds and right fielder Reggie Sanders hit a pair of solo home runs in the top of the 2nd, and after Troy Glaus hit his own solo home run in the bottom of the 2nd, first baseman J.T. Snow hit a solo home run in the top of the 6th. Glaus’s 2nd solo home run in the bottom of the 6th and Kennedy’s RBI single weren’t enough to complete the rally.

An 11-10 shootout occurred in Game 2 on October 20, and the Angels were on the right side of it. In the bottom of the 1st Erstad had an RBI double, followed by 3 RBI singles that came from Anderson, Fullmer and Spiezio. Fullmer then stole home plate as part of a double steal with Spiezio. Sanders belted a 2-run home run in the top of the 2nd along with a solo home run by third baseman David Bell, but Tim Salmon responded by smoking a 2-run home run in the bottom of the 2nd. Second baseman Jeff Kent hit a solo home run in the top of the 3rd, and 3 RBI singles would come from Snow, Bell and designated hitter Shawn Dunston in the top of the 5th. Anaheim rallied again behind a sacrifice fly by Spiezio in the bottom of the 5th, an RBI single by Anderson in the bottom of the 6th, and another smoked 2-run home run by Salmon in the bottom of the 8th. A solo home run by Bonds in the top of the 9th wasn’t enough.

Game 3 switched to Pacific Bell Park in San Francisco on October 22, and the Angels would win 10-4. The 3rd and 4th innings proved to be the most pivotal of the game as Salmon reached on an error in the top of the 3rd to score Eckstein, followed by a Glaus RBI single and a 2-run triple by Spiezio. Anderson had an RBI groundout in the top of the 4th, and 3 RBI singles from Spiezio, Kennedy and Molina soon followed. An RBI single by Eckstein in the top of the 6th and a fielder’s choice hit by Erstad in the top of the 8th to score Molina were more than enough to win.

The Giants then won a close 4-3 Game 4 on October 23. Eckstein hit a sacrifice fly in the top of the 2nd, and then Glaus hammered a 2-run home run in the top of the 3rd, but the Giants came back with an RBI single by shortstop Rich Aurilia, a sacrifice fly by Kent and an RBI single by catcher Benito Santiago in the bottom of the 5th. Bell’s RBI single in the bottom of the 8th won it for the Giants.

San Francisco then pounded Anaheim 16-4 in Game 5 on October 24. In the bottom of the 1st Bonds had an RBI double, Santiago hit a sacrifice fly, and Bell drew a bases loaded walk to score Bonds. In the bottom of the 6th Kent hit a solo home run. In the bottom of the 7th center fielder Kenny Lofton had a 2-run triple, and Kent blasted a 2-run home run.

Going back to Edison Field for Game 6 on October 26, the Angels needed to rally once more, being down 3 games to 2, and they did just that. The Angels won Game 6 by the score of 6-5. Shawn Dunston hit a 2-run home run in the top of the 5th, and then a wild pitch scored Lofton. Bonds hit a solo home run in the top of the 6th, and then Kent had an RBI single in the top of the 7th. Then the Rally Monkey came out, and in the bottom of the 7th Scott Spiezio belted a 3-run home run. Darin Erstad then hit a solo home run in the top of the 8th, and Troy Glaus followed with a 2-run double.

In the deciding Game 7 on October 27, Reggie Sanders hit a sacrifice fly for the Giants in the top of the 2nd, but the rallying Angels wouldn’t be denied here as Bengie Molina had an RBI double in the bottom of the 2nd, and Garret Anderson topped the rally off with a 3-run double in the bottom of the 3rd. The Angels won 4-1 and claimed their first World Series title in franchise history.

Troy Glaus would be named World Series Most Valuable Player, having 10 hits, 3 doubles, 3 home runs, 8 RBI’s and 4 walks in the Fall Classic.