Angels World Victory Tour

To perpetually celebrate the 2002 World Series victory of the Anaheim Angels by visiting caches near baseball parks.

The Rally Monkey is on the prowl! The scoreboard phenom that powered the Anaheim Angels to their first baseball World Series victory in their 43-year history is traveling around the world to celebrate. The Anaheim Angels became the 2002 World Series champions defeating Barry Bonds and the San Francisco Giants after a daring come from behind victory in Game 6 where the Angels were down 5-0 with only 8 outs remaining. The scrappy Angels, a team full of gamers who never give up, came back to win the game 6-5. Shortstop David Eckstein, with less natural ability than many players and standing only at 5 feet 6 1/2 inches tall, epitomized the work effort of this blue collar team.

Game 7 of the series featured 8 innings with three rookie pitchers (Lackey, Donnelly, and Rodriguez) with veteran closer Troy Percival coming in to get the final 3 outs.

About the rookies:
John Lackey had only a half of a season of major league baseball under his belt before the 2002 post season. In 1998 he was a college first baseman who decided to switch to pitching based on the advice of a coach. In 1999 he was the first round draft pick of the Angels as a pitcher, and in 2002 he became the first rookie to win Game 7 of the World Series in 93 years. The cap John wore in Game 7 was taken for display at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.

Brendan Donnelley took a different road. After 10 years in the minors with 14 different organizations, many were ready to give up on the 30-year-old Donnelly. The Angels gave him a shot a the major leagues and he responded with a great year out of the bullpen and 7 2/3 scoreless innings in the World Series while surrendering only a single hit.

20-year-old Francisco Rodriguez joined the Angels postseason roster after only 5 2/3 innings of major league experience. During the postseason Francisco earned the nickname K-Rod (K being the scoring designation for a strikeout) and became the youngest pitcher to appear in a World Series in 32 years and the youngest pitcher ever to earn a win. Francisco posted a 5-1 record with 28 strikeouts in 18.2 postseason innings with a 1.93 ERA.

Major League stadiums visisted so far:
Edison Field (Angels)
Dodger Stadium (Dodgers)
Network Associates Coliseum (A's)
Pac Bell Park (Giants)
Petco Park (Padres)
Bank One Ballpark (Diamondbacks)
Turner Field (Braves)

Other stadiums visited:
Sun Devil Stadium (Arizona State)
Drillers Stadium (Rockies AA Team)