#1 10/27/02 - Anaheim Stadium - 2002 World Series Game 7

What could top a Game 6 victory in the World Series? Only a Game 7. Going for the Giants was 1997 World Series MVP Livan Hernandez. The Angels countered with rookie John Lackey. The big Texan had won the Wild Card clincher against the Rangers the month before, as well as Game 4 of the ALCS; but now he was facing the game’s greatest hitter on baseball’s biggest stage. In his two previous Series appearances, the Giants had tagged Lackey for five runs in 7 1/3 innings. Still, manager Mike Scioscia felt confident handing him the ball for the biggest game in Angels’ history.

            In the second inning, the Giants scored on a pair of singles and a sacrifice fly. In the bottom of the inning, the Angels immediately responded when Spiezio drew a two out walk and Bengie Molina doubled him in.

            In the third inning, David Eckstein led off with a single – his 20^th single of the postseason, tying the ML record. Darin Erstad promptly followed with a single of his own – tying the record for most hits in a postseason (25). Hernandez then plunked Tim Salmon to load the bases for Garret Anderson. G.A. had been relatively quiet all Series, with just three RBI to his credit. In other words, he was due.

            Garret drilled Hernandez’s third pitch up the first base line and into the corner. The man who’d led the majors with 56 doubles, hit the biggest double of his life to clear the bases and give the Angels a 4-1 lead.

            It was all the scoring the Angels would need. Lackey pitched five strong innings, then was relieved by rookie Brendan Donnelly. Donnelly shut out the Giants for two before rookie Frankie Rodriguez came in for the eighth. K-Rod capped his eye-popping postseason debut by striking out three of the four Giants he faced – finishing with a ML record 13.5 strikeouts per 9 innings.

In the ninth, Troy Percival came in to save it. Naturally, it wasn’t as easy as one, two, three. There had to be some drama. A single by Snow, a force at second, defensive indifference, and a walk put runners at first and second with only one out. Percival then blew away Shinjo setting up a showdown with Kenny Lofton. Kenny lofted a fly ball to CF, where Erstad caught it for the final out.

Percival crowed with delight as his teammates swarmed the mound to celebrate. It was his seventh save of the postseason – tying yet another ML record. John Lackey was credited with the win, the first rookie since 1909 to win Game 7 of the World Series.

In the celebration that followed, Tim Salmon, the longest tenured Angel, took the championship trophy on a victory lap around the field, inviting the Angels’ fans to share the championship with the team. Jackie Autry, carrying one of her late husband’s famous Stetson hats, then proclaimed, “Gene was with us tonight. He just had a better seat.”

Troy Glaus, who batted .385, with 3 home runs, 7 runs, and 8 RBI in the Series was voted MVP. But as he himself claimed, “No one guy on this team has gotten us to this point or carried us through this point. It’s been a team effort all the way through – 25 guys.” That pretty much sums up the entire postseason. Each game, a new hero seemed to rise to the forefront. This group of Angels worked as a unit, relentlessly pounding away at 41 years of disappointment and unfulfilled dreams until together, they achieved the prize. It was so magical, it was as if Disney itself had scripted it…no, it was better!