October 26, 2002: Angels’ record-breaking comeback stuns Giants in Game 6

The 2002 World Series was the first between two wild-card teams.1 This Series had no Cy Young Award winners, 2 and as of 2024, none of the participants had been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. One team, the Anaheim Angels, had never reached the World Series in their 42-year history.3 The other, the San Francisco Giants, were aiming for their first title since 1954, after nearly half a century and a cross-country move.4

Some fans did not think the Angels and Giants deserved to play in the fall classic, but the wild cards provided a World Series for the ages. Some consider this Series to be one of the best in history,5 partly because of what happened in Game Six, played at Anaheim’s Edison Field on October 26.

Down three games to two after San Francisco won Games Four and Five at home, Anaheim faced a must-win Game Six. A crowd of 44,506 filed into Edison Field.6

Before the game, comedian, actor, and diehard Giants fan Robin Williams walked around the field and the Giants’ dugout, talking with San Francisco players while cracking jokes.7

On a clear evening, the ceremonial first pitch was thrown by Hall of Famer Rod Carew, a former Angel.8

The pitching matchup featured a couple of right-handers, Anaheim’s Kevin Appier and Russ Ortiz for San Francisco.9 Both had been knocked out early in the Angels’ 11-10 win in Game Two. The 34-year-old Appier, in his 14th major-league season, did not make it through three innings in that game; Ortiz, 28 years old, was gone in the second inning.

Through four scoreless innings in Game Six, the starters pitched well, with Appier giving up a single and three walks (one intentional), while Ortiz surrendered a single and one walk.

In the top of the fifth, the Giants’ number-eight batter, David Bell, got a one-out single. He was followed by 39-year-old designated hitter Shawon Dunston, who belted one to left, out of the park.10 Giants 2, Angels 0.

The top of the order was next. Center fielder Kenny Lofton doubled to deep right-center and Angels’ manager Mike Scioscia11 replaced Appier12 with 20-year-old rookie reliever Francisco Rodríguez. On a 1-and-2 count to Rich Aurilia, Lofton stole third base. Lofton held at third as Aurilia grounded out to short, bringing Jeff Kent to the plate. Rodríguez threw a wild pitch, enabling Lofton to score. Giants 3, Angels 0.

Ortiz had a one-two-three inning in the bottom of the fifth.

Leading off the top of the sixth, San Francisco’s Barry Bonds crushed a 449-foot homer to right, his fourth of the World Series.13 Like Dunston, the 38-year-old Bonds was greeted by his young son at home plate after his homer, and each time Dad smacked a kiss on their son’s cheek.14 San Francisco 4, Anaheim 0.

In the top of the seventh, Lofton singled to right. One pitch later, he swiped second and took third on an errant throw from Angels catcher Bengie Molina. Kent laced a single to center, Lofton scored, and the Giants took a commanding 5-0 lead.

In homes and bars around the Bay Area, the Giants’ faithful were ecstatic about what looked like an imminent and long-awaited championship for the orange-and-black. In the visitors’ clubhouse, Giants’ personnel had champagne chilling for the impending celebration.

Ortiz had pitched brilliantly for the Giants. He had carried a no-hitter into the fourth inning and through six innings he had yielded only two singles and two walks.

In the bottom of the seventh, Ortiz gave up a one-out single to Angels third baseman Troy Glaus, followed by another to Brad Fullmer. With men on first and second, and Ortiz’s pitch count at 98, Giants skipper Dusty Baker15 brought in reliever Félix Rodríguez to face Scott Spiezio.

During the pitching change, the “Rally Monkey”16 came on the ballpark’s video screen and amped up the fans. The count went to 3-and-2. After fouling off some pitches, Spiezio poked a low fastball just over the right-field wall for a three-run homer.

“I was praying, ‘Please God, please, let it go out,’” said Spiezio.17

Fans had been subdued when the Giants’ offense was rolling, but now they were yelling at the top of their lungs and their “ThunderStix”18 erupted. The Rally Monkey appeared on the video board again as fireworks shot skyward.19 The Angels were back in the game. Giants 5, Angels 3.

For the top of the eighth, Brendan Donnelly took the mound for the Angels. He walked the first batter, Benito Santiago, then retired the next three Giants.

Entering the bottom of the eighth, San Francisco was six outs away from a World Series title. Veteran right-hander Tim Worrell came on in relief and surrendered Darin Erstad’s20 leadoff homer to right, bringing the Angels within one run.

Could the Angels bring forth a miracle?  

The next batter, Tim Salmon, singled to center, and Chone Figgins replaced Salmon. Garret Anderson hit a bloop single into shallow left. This advanced Figgins to third, and Anderson continued to second when Bonds bobbled the ball for an error and then lost his footing.

The score was Giants 5, Angels 4, with two on and no outs. The crowd’s decibel level was ear-splitting. The Rally Monkey pranced on-screen. Worrell was relieved by closer Robb Nen.21 The first batter to face Nen was Glaus. On a 2-and-1 count, Glaus hammered a hanging slider for a double to deep left-center. Figgins scored the tying run, and Anderson scored the go-ahead run.

The tables had quickly turned. In less than two innings, the Angels had gone from being down five runs to being up by one: Angels 6, Giants 5.

There was nothing laid-back about these Southern California fans. They went absolutely berserk. Some Angels employees wept with joy.22 Salmon said the fans kept the team going before and during the postseason: “The last month of the season, we had the rowdiest fans.”23

For the ninth, the Angels’ closer, Troy Percival, faced the number nine, one, and two batters for the Giants. Tom Goodwin, batting for Dunston, fanned on five pitches. Lofton fouled out and Aurilia struck out swinging.

The Angels had done it. On the brink of elimination, they tied the Series at three games apiece.

Donnelly was the winning pitcher, Percival got his second save of the Series, and Worrell took the loss.

Worrell: “I can’t recall a game where [our] bullpen pitched like that collectively. We should have been able to shut the door.”24

Anaheim’s comeback was the first time a team facing elimination in a World Series had rallied from a five-run deficit to win.25 It was the fifth home game of the 2002 postseason that the Angels had won with rallies in the seventh or eighth inning.26

After the game, the scoreboard showed a picture of the Rally Monkey asleep with Z’s coming out of its mouth.27

On to Game Seven. The battle would continue in Anaheim the next day.28

Spiezio: “That was incredible. Until that last out is made again tomorrow, we will never give up.”29

Dunston: “We’ve got a game tomorrow. Hopefully, we can keep them quiet and cage that monkey.”30

Anaheim went on to win Game Seven, 4-1, for what through 2024 was the franchise’s only World Series championship. The 2002 Angels lacked superstars but played well as a team and were adored by their fans. Keith Sharon of the Orange County Register summed up how many felt when he wrote: “The World Champion Anaheim Angels were just like you thought they’d be: like your brother or your son or the guy down the street you want on your softball team. They were funny and playful and humble and very, very smart, revealing the good-guy personalities they seemed to display all season.”31

Game Six’s storybook comeback was a larger-than-life victory for the Angels, and a very special event in their history. Years later, sportswriter Joe Posnanski’s online poll asked baseball fans to vote for the greatest moment in their team’s history. Angel fans picked the two-run double by Glaus in the eighth inning of Game Six as number one. The second-highest number of votes went to Spiezio’s three-run dinger from the same game.32

Winning the game in such a thrilling and dramatic fashion demonstrates how baseball can absolutely mesmerize us, and why we keep coming back for more.

“Can you imagine that game? These guys are just unbelievable,” said Angels batting coach Mickey Hatcher shortly after Game Six. “They get it going. The sparks start flying.”33

Acknowledgments

This article was fact-checked by Harrison Golden and copy-edited by Len Levin. The author thanks John Fredland, Gary Belleville, and Kurt Blumenau for their assistance.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com, Retrosheet.org, and SABR.org for general player, team, and season data. The author also watched Game Six on YouTube.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/ANA/ANA200210260.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2002/B10260ANA2002.htm

Photo credit: Scott Spiezio, Trading Card Database.

Notes

1 Major League Baseball introduced wild-card teams in 1995. From 1995 through 2011, the second-place team in each league with the best record received the league’s wild-card berth, including the Angels and Giants in 2002. The 1997 Florida Marlins were the first wild-card team to win a World Series. They were also the first wild-card team to appear in a World Series.

In the ’02 regular season, Anaheim began with a franchise-worst 6-14 start, but caught fire after that. They finished with a 99-63 record (.611), had the most hits (1,603), and the highest batting average (.282) in the majors. The Angels beat the previous year’s pennant winner, the New York Yankees, in the American League Division Series, and outplayed the Minnesota Twins in the Championship Series. The Angels showed they were capable of blowing up innings with their offensive prowess, such as a 10-hit, 8-run inning against the Yankees and a 10-hit, 10-run inning against the Twins. Troy Glaus hit three homers in the ALDS. Angels second baseman Adam Kennedy was the ALCS MVP with an OPS of 1.357. In the final game of the series, he hit three home runs. San Francisco had a 95-66 record (.590) in the regular season. Second baseman Jeff Kent and left fielder Barry Bonds won Silver Slugger Awards. The Giants took the NLDS from the Atlanta Braves and beat the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLCS. Russ Ortiz was the winning pitcher in the first and last games of the NLDS. Catcher Benito Santiago was the NLCS MVP with two homers, six RBIs, and an OPS of .964.  

2 The prior World Series (2001) featured Cy Young Award winners Randy Johnson and Roger Clemens, who both pitched in Game Seven as Johnson’s Arizona Diamondbacks defeated Clemens’ New York Yankees, four games to three.

3 The Angels had lost in the American League Championship Series three times, falling in winner-take-all games against the Milwaukee Brewers in 1982 and Boston Red Sox in 1986.

4 The Giants had not won a championship since moving to San Francisco in 1958. In the meantime, they had lost the heart-stopping 1962 World Series to the New York Yankees and the earthquake-interrupted 1989 World Series to the Oakland A’s.

5 The 2002 Series ranks in the top 25 in several “Best World Series” rankings, including some top 10 showings. The ’02 World Series was the fourth to feature two teams from California.

6 The ballpark opened in 1966. It was known as Edison Field from 1998 to 2003. It is often referred to as “The Big A.”

7 “These Angels Laugh Last,” The Sporting News, November 4, 2002: 6-8. Williams lived in the Bay Area on-and-off since he was 16. He was a longtime Giants fan and this was his first visit to Edison Field. Shortly after Williams died, the Giants had a pregame ceremony and video tribute on August 12, 2014, to honor him as one of their greatest fans. While walking around the field prior to Game Six, Williams looked at the Disneyesque rock formations just beyond the fence in left-center and proclaimed the area to be “a miniature-golf course on steroids.” Henry Schulman, “Giants’ Notebook – Postseason Money Still a Windfall to Some,” San Francisco Chronicle, October 27, 2002, B12.

8 “2002 World Series,” Baseball-Almanac.com. Accessed December 13, 2024, https://www.baseball-almanac.com/ws/yr2002ws.shtml.

9 Appier finished the 2002 regular season with a 14-12 record and an ERA of 3.92. He played in the big leagues from 1989 to 2004. While with the Kansas City Royals, Appier won the 1993 AL ERA title (2.56) and was a one-time All-Star in 1995.  Ortiz completed the 2002 regular season with a 14-10 record and an ERA of 3.61. Ortiz played for National and American League teams from 1998 to 2010, with the exception of the 2008 season. As an Atlanta Brave, he was a one-time All-Star in 2003, during a season when he led the NL in wins with 21.

10 This was Dunston’s first homer since April 15. He became the sixth oldest player to hit his first World Series home run. This was Dunston’s final game of his 18-season major-league career. He was a two-time All-Star who retired with a .269 batting average and a .712 OPS. Henry Schulman, “Collapse – Monkey Perches on Giants’ Backs,” San Francisco Chronicle, October 27, 2002: B1.

11 This was Scioscia’s third year as a big-league manager all with Anaheim. He managed the Angels for 19 seasons and won the AL Manager of the Year twice (in 2002 and 2009). As a player, he was a catcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers for 13 seasons and was a two-time All-Star (in 1989 and 1990). Scioscia was a teammate with opposing manager Dusty Baker when the two played for the 1981 Dodgers team that won the World Series.

12 Appier was clearly unhappy. When he got back to the dugout, he cleared an area of cups and sunflower seeds with an angry swipe of his hand. Daniel Brown, “Classic Collapse – Giants Squander 5-Run Lead in Late Stages,” San Jose Mercury News, October 27, 2002: 1C.

13 ESPN’s Hit Tracker estimated this home run’s distance to be 449 feet. If the Giants had won the Series, Bonds might have been the Series MVP. Through Game Six, he was 7-for-14, with six RBIs, 12 walks (seven were intentional), and had an on-base percentage of .731. Bonds hit 46 home runs during the 2002 regular season. (In the 2001 season, he belted 73 homers, a single-season record.) In 2002 Bonds was the major-league batting champion (.370) and was the best in the majors in on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS (1.381). He won the 2002 NL MVP Award, one of seven MVP awards he won during his career (two with the Pittsburgh Pirates and five with the Giants). Bonds was a 14-time All-Star, won Gold Gloves eight times and Silver Slugger Awards 12 times. He is the all-time home run king with 762 round-trippers. Bonds also has the most bases on balls in the majors with 2,558 career walks, and he owns the all-time WAR record (162.8). He is the son of Bobby Bonds, a cousin of Reggie Jackson, and the godson of Willie Mays.

14 Larry Stone, “Seventh Heaven – Angels Force Game 7 With Comeback Win,” Seattle Times, October 27, 2002: D1. The ’02 Giants were very family-oriented and had the young sons of team members working as batboys, including Dunston’s 10-year-old son, Shawon Dunston Jr., and Bonds’ 12-year-old son, Nikoli. In Game Five, Dusty Baker’s 3-year-old batboy son, Darren Baker, had a close call while retrieving a bat near home plate. J.T. Snow had been batted-in by Kenny Lofton and he quickly lifted Darren by the jacket to get him out of the area since the Giants’ David Bell was right behind Snow, also trying to score. In January 2003, Major League Baseball required batboys and batgirls to be at least 14 years old.

15 Baker was in the last year of his 10-year tenure as the Giants’ manager. He went on to manage the Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Washington Nationals and Houston Astros. With the 2022 Astros, he won his first World Series ring as a manager. He has a 2,183-1,862 won-lost record (.540) in 26 seasons as an American and National League manager. He was named NL Manager of the Year in 1993, 1997, and 2000. His big-league playing career spanned from 1968 through 1986 with the Braves, Dodgers, Giants, and Oakland A’s. Baker was the NLCS MVP in 1977 while with the Dodgers. He was a two-time All-Star (1981 and 1982). The outfielder won a Gold Glove in 1981 and Silver Slugger Awards in 1980 and 1981.

16 The Rally Monkey was a white-haired capuchin monkey that would appear on the scoreboard video when the Angels were trailing in late innings to rev up the crowd. The monkey wore an Angels jersey while jumping and dancing to music, and sometimes it would hold a “Rally Time” sign. The same monkey made appearances on the television sitcom Friends as “Marcel.” This fan-favorite mascot debuted at Edison Field in 2000 during a regular-season game against the Giants. (The monkey did its job; the Angels came back to win.)

17 Cheryl Rosenberg Neubert, “Comeback … Again / Game 6: Glaus’ Two-Run Double Caps the Second of Two Three-Run Rallies That Force a Decisive Game 7,” Orange County (California) Register, October 27, 2002: Angels-1. Spiezio was otherworldly as an Angel clutch hitter in this postseason with a record 19 RBIs and a record batting average of .733 with runners in scoring position. Spiezio, a believer in the importance of visualization for sports performance, credited his dad, Ed Spiezio, who played in three World Series in a nine-season career with three teams, for doing backyard drills with him that were often Game Seven scenarios, “so that any other situation doesn’t seem as tough.” Mark Whicker, “Just Another Angels Miracle,” Orange County Register, October 27, 2002, Angels-1.

18 ThunderStix were long, narrow polyethylene noisemakers. Fans clapped the red sticks together to make noise. They were free giveaways at Edison Field, whereas the noiseless Rally Monkey plush dolls sold for $14 each in 2002. Richard Sandomir, “Baseball: Creating Noise, and an Uproar,” NYTimes.com, October 16, 2002, https://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/16/sports/baseball-creating-noise-and-an-uproar.html.

19 Paul Oberjuerge, “Of Course This One Would Go the Absolute Limit,” Los Angeles Daily News, October 27, 2002: 56.

20 This was Erstad’s 24th hit of the postseason, moving him to within one hit of the record by Atlanta Brave Marquis Grissom in 1997. Erstad got a hit in Game Seven, tying Grissom for the record. Worrell was a very reliable setup man (8-2, 2.25 ERA) for closer Robb Nen. Worrell had a win and a hold in the World Series, and prior to Erstad’s homer, he hadn’t allowed a run in four appearances (4⅓ IP, with only one hit). Laurence Miedema, “Appier Surprised in Fifth – Pitcher Didn’t Expect Giants to Rough Him Up,” San Jose Mercury News, October 27, 2002: 2C.

21 This was Nen’s final big-league game. The right-hander was a three-time All-Star during his 10 years in the majors. He retired with 314 saves and a 2.98 ERA.

22 Oberjuerge, “Of Course This One Would Go the Absolute Limit.”

23 Keith Sharon, “Down-To-Earth Angels / Players – Team Members Prove They’re Just as Nice in Real Life as They Appeared to Be on the Field,” Orange County Register, October 30, 2002: Angels-6.

24 Micheal A. Anastasi, “Giants Reaction: Giants Ready Despite Game 6 Loss,” Los Angeles Daily News, October 27, 2002: S5. The ’02 Giants had the second-best bullpen ERA in the majors (2.91). Only the Braves were better (2.60).

25 In 98 years of World Series play, only two teams on the brink had ever come back from four-run deficits: the Chicago White Sox in Game Six of the 1919 Series (against the Cincinnati Reds), and the 1925 Pittsburgh Pirates in Game Seven (vs. the Washington Nationals). 

26 Randy Youngman, “Angels Parade: Red All About It,” Orange County Register: T-V. Anaheim won 20 of its final 23 games at Edison Field, including an 8-1 record at home during the postseason.

27 Anthony McCarron, “Angels Rally, Have a Prayer Monkey Around to Force 7,” New York Daily News, October 27, 2002: 55.

28 In Game Seven, with just three days’ rest, Anaheim’s John Lackey was the first rookie pitcher since 1909 to start and win a Game Seven. Many fans stood throughout the entire game as their Angels finally ascended to Baseball Heaven. Keith Sharon, “Anaheim’s Fantasia – Years of Waiting – And for Some 2,268 Games – Come Full Circle for Angels Fans Rocked by World Series Performance,” Orange County Register, October 28, 2002: A-M. Troy Glaus was the Series MVP (.385 batting average, 1.313 OPS, three home runs, and eight RBIs). Two days after the victory, tens of thousands of fans lined a parade route on Katella Avenue to cheer the Angels. Fire engines and red convertibles carried the team members to a public rally at Edison Field. There were also parades on Main Street in Disneyland and at California Adventure. Fans entering Disneyland passed under a 25-foot-tall Rally Monkey on a replica Golden Gate Bridge. Debbie Talanian, “Anaheim Hit Parade / Team Meets Fans During a Trio of Processions,” Orange County Register: Angels-3. The ’02 World Series certainly showcased batting more than pitching. The teams combined to set a World Series record for runs scored (85). Another World Series record was set when the two teams combined to belt 21 homers. However, during the season, pitching was strong: each team was second in their leagues’ regular season ERA. Stats for Games One through Five show the starting rotations were particularly poor. Game Six broke this trend with the starters doing better than the relievers.

29 Daniel Brown, “Classic Collapse – Giants Squander 5-Run Lead in Late Stages.”

30 Henry Schulman, “Collapse – Monkey Perches on Giants’ Backs,” San Francisco Chronicle, October 27, 2002: B1.

31 Sharon, “Down-To-Earth Angels / Players – Team Members Prove They’re Just as Nice in Real Life as They Appeared to Be on the Field.”

32 Joe Posnanski, Why We Love Baseball (New York: Penguin Random House, 2023), 345.

33 Cheryl Rosenberg Neubert, “Comeback … Again / Game 6: Glaus’ Two-Run Double Caps the Second of Two Three-Run Rallies That Force a Decisive Game 7.”