| 2002 Anaheim Angels | |
|---|---|
| World Series Champions American League Champions American League Wild Card Winners | |
 | |
| League | American League |
| Division | West |
| Ballpark | Edison International Field of Anaheim |
| City | Anaheim, California |
| Record | 99–63 (.611) |
| Divisional place | 2nd |
| Owners | The Walt Disney Company |
| General managers | Bill Stoneman |
| Managers | Mike Scioscia |
| Television | KCAL-9 Fox Sports Net West •Steve Physioc, Rex Hudler |
| Radio | KLAC (AM 570—Primary) KPLS (AM 830—Backup) •Rory Markas, Terry Smith KTNQ (AM 1020—Spanish) •Ivan Lara, José Mota |
| Stats | ESPN.com Baseball Reference |
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,"[1] 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.[2] 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 (both teams avoided striking out in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series). 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.
- ^ "Baseball's Angels on High". CNN. October 28, 2002. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
- ^ "Angels on Cloud Nine". CNN. Retrieved November 11, 2008.