Top 5 Players of the 2002 World Series

Originally published on Jul. 17, 2019

By Zane Miller

On Sunday, October 27th, 2002, the Anaheim (now Los Angeles) Angels defeated the San Francisco Giants at Edison International Field (now Angel Stadium) in Anaheim to win the 98th World Series four games to three. It was the first (and as of this writing, most recent) World Series championship for the Angels franchise and the 10th that was won in California. These are the top five players that I felt most stood out during the series.

5. #29 Jason Schmidt (Giants)- P

Schmidt scored player of the game in game one, going five and two thirds innings while allowing three earned runs along with nine hits and one walk as the Giants claimed the 4-3 victory.

4. #46 Kirk Rueter (Giants)- P

Rueter pitched his way to player of the game honors in game four, pitching six innings while giving up three earned runs along with nine hits and no walks in the Giants’ 4-3 win.

3. #15 Tim Salmon (Angels)- RF

Salmon earned player of the game honors in game two, as he drove in four RBIs on three runs, four hits and a walk as the Angels picked up an 11-10 victory.

2. #41 John Lackey (Angels)- P

Lackey got player of the game in game seven, going five innings with just one earned run allowed on four hits and one walk as the Angels earned a 4-1 win to clinch the series victory.

1. #23 Scott Spiezio (Angels)- 1B

Spiezio was player of the game in games three and six, as game three saw him get three RBIs on one run, two hits, and one walk in the Angels’ 10-4 win, followed up in game six with a similar stat line of three RBIs with one run, one hit and one walk as the Angels picked up a 6-5 victory.

Players of the Game Breakdown:

 

Link to stats database: https://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/2002_WS.shtml