L.A. Angels: Can the Angels Win the World Series? Lessons From the 2002 Season

Well, can they?

At first glance, the answer would appear to be “no.” Most baseball analysts don’t even have the Angels winning their division, let alone playing deep into October.

The Rangers and the A’s are the AL West favorites, with the Rangers’ bats and the A’s arms attracting significant attention. The Angels? They made headlines when they traded for Vernon Wells and his “untradeable” contract.

Some argue that little has changed from last year’s 80-win team. They feel that the addition of Vernon Wells, Scott Downs and Hisanori Takahashi will be offset by the loss of Juan Rivera, Mike Napoli and Hideki Matsui.

As I described in a prior article, I think the Halos will bounce back this year. Many of the Angels are coming off below-average seasons, and a healthy Kendry Morales will make a huge difference. The Angels should be much improved this season.

But can they win the World Series?

Before we answer that question, let’s look back at the 2002 team that won it all.

The 2002 season began in disappointing fashion as the Angels started with a 6-14 record—the worst start in franchise history.

I remember that season well.

I graduated from high school in 2002, and regularly went to games at Angel Stadium. My friends and I would buy the cheapest tickets available, knowing that—with the lack of fans coming to games that season—there would be plenty of empty seats in the lower levels that we could easily move to once the game began.

One night, though, we actually stayed in our upper deck seats. The Angels were getting blown out, and the stadium was quiet. Quiet enough that we got the attention of Garrett Anderson in left field. He turned and waved to us as we screamed his name. That was the highlight of the game.

While I loved the Angels, I didn’t expect much that year. Even when they got hot during the summer months and made a run for the division, I braced myself for the worst. I still remembered the 1995 collapse—the season they led the Mariners by 11 games in August before falling apart and missing out on the playoffs.

But the Angels proved me wrong.

2002 was not 1995. The team ended the season with 99 wins and captured their first playoff berth since 1986.

As summer turned into fall, I sat in my college dorm room and watched the seemingly disappointing Angels turn into a true contender. My only option for viewing games was a 12” television, but I cherished every minute.

The playoff run was incredible. The Angels knocked off both the Yankees and Twins in the first two rounds, and young Francisco Rodriguez emerged as a star.

Barry Bonds and his San Francisco Giants awaited the Angels in the World Series, and proved to be a worthy opponent.

Holding a 3-2 series lead, the Giants were up by five runs and only needed eight outs to win the title. The Angels forged a memorable comeback and won Game 6 before clinching the franchise’s first World Series victory in Game 7.

Looking back, I am impressed that the Angels won the World Series that year. On paper, I think that several of the Vladimir Guerrero-led teams had more talent than the 2002 squad.

But you can’t win a World Series on paper.

I love baseball because anything can happen. The 2003 Florida Marlins and the 2010 San Francisco Giants are perfect examples—teams that came from nowhere and shocked the world when they won the World Series.

The beginning of a season brings hope to each team, and the Angels are no exception. I would hope that every Angel on the roster feels that the team can win it all.

To make a World Series run, the Halos will need consistent pitching, improved hitting and solid fielding. They will need a few young prospects to step up the way that Francisco Rodriguez did in 2002. On top of that, it is essential that they develop good chemistry and play their best ball when September and October roll around—two things that they didn’t do in 2010.

Revisiting the initial question: Can the Angels win the World Series this year?

Maybe it’s wishful thinking or blissful memories of 2002, but I think they can.

Will they?

We have the next seven months to figure that out…