The Major League Baseball playoffs have reached the World Series, with the most unlikely of teams butting heads. It is a California series, with the Anaheim Angels meeting up with the San Francisco Giants.
There are two very intriguing storylines this year. In the American League the Angels are making their first World Series appearance in franchise history. Described by many as a “rag-tag crew of no-names”, the Angels have made it through the playoffs with timely hitting, clutch pitching, and well-timed solo home runs. Adam Eckstien has led the way for Anaheim, with four home runs, three of which came in the game five thumping of the Minnesota Twins. Troy Glaus has anchored the offense with a triple, four home runs, and eight runs scored. The starters have been key in Anaheim’s climb to greatness. Jarrod Washburn, Kevin Appier, and Ramon Ortiz have kept the games close, and the bullpen of Troy Percival, John Lackey, Ben Weber, and Francisco Rodriguez have shut down the opposition.
The Angels have been an underdog team throughout the playoffs. In the Division Series versus New York not too many picked the Angels to upset the post-season veteran Yankees. Despite losing game one at Yankee Stadium, the Angels won the last three games to upend the defending American League Champs. Anaheim then went on to face the Twins, who upset Oakland for their berth in the American League Championship Series. The Angels again dropped game one, but won the next four games straight to clinch a spot in the World Series.
The Giants, on the other hand, are a team that has some well-known players. Barry Bonds, perhaps the best player without a post-season showing, is making his first World Series appearance. This is the first appearance in the Series for the Giants since 1989 and their first since the reformatting of the playoffs. Bonds, though, has not been the key to San Francisco’s offense. The players producing the most for the Giants have been those hitting behind Bonds, due to Arizona and St. Louis pitching around him. Benito Santiago and Rich Aurilia have enjoyed the most success behind Bonds, and David Bell has proven to be a post season giant. Pitching has also been key for Giants; six of their seven wins have been by three runs or less. Rob Nen has saved five of the Giants’ wins, and the starting pitchers have also tallied five wins.
The Giants, who captured the wild card during the regular season, beat the heavily favored Atlanta Braves in five games, and downed the St. Louis Cardinals, who beat the National League champion Arizona Diamondbacks in three games. The Cardinals—who have faced the tragic death of Daryl Kile this season—could not score runs when they needed to, and fell to the Giants in five games.
The Giants and Angels have faced each other in the past. With both teams playing in the West, the summer interleague match-ups have often seen these two teams play. This year, though, the Angels and Giants did not face each other.
This is the first time since playoff reformatting that two wild-card teams have made it to the World Series. The winner of this year’s World Series will be the second wild-card world champion, the only other one being the 1997 Florida Marlins.
