Angels beat Giants 4-1 to win World Series in dramatic turn around

ANAHEIM, California (AP) _ Tim Salmon hoisted the World Series trophy and took a victory lap around Edison Field. He'd always imagined what the trip would be like, and it was harder than he thought.

Monday, October 28th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

ANAHEIM, California (AP) _ Tim Salmon hoisted the World Series trophy and took a victory lap around Edison Field. He'd always imagined what the trip would be like, and it was harder than he thought.

``It was pretty heavy,'' he said.

And well worth it, for the Anaheim Angels and all their fans who wondered whether this day would ever come.

Behind rookie starter John Lackey and a big hit by Garret Anderson, the Angels became one of the more improbable champions in baseball history, beating Barry Bonds and the San Francisco Giants 4-1 Sunday night in Game 7.

``These fans have been waiting a long, long time for this,'' MVP Troy Glaus said. ``And I know we're all happy to be part of the team to bring it to them.''

The Angels took 42 years to win their first title.

Bonds, meanwhile, is still hoping.

As Anaheim players celebrated all over the field, the best hitter in the world watched from a dark corner of the Giants' dugout. Bonds knew this moment could have been his _ a day earlier, it almost was.

``You want the results to be different,'' Bonds said. ``They outplayed us, they deserve it. They beat us. They're world champions.''

In Game 6, the Giants blew a 5-0 lead in the seventh inning. In Game 7, San Francisco never got close to winning its first title.

``The turning point was basically they came back last night,'' Giants manager Dusty Baker said.

His 3-year-old bat boy son, Darren, took it hard. He wailed as his dad carried him from the dugout.

Bonds closed out one of the most dominant overall Series performances ever, yet it wasn't enough. He went 8-for-17 (.471) with four homers and a .700 on-base percentage.

After watching the Angels party, Bonds walked down the dugout and picked up his glove. He walked back, tapped his son on the back and walked down the runway.

``I went 1-for-3 with a walk, that's a good day. Am I supposed to go 3-for-3 with three home runs?'' Bonds said. ``What do you want from me?''

The highest-scoring Series in history came down to pitching, as it always seems to do in October. And Lackey and the bullpen gave Anaheim enough to win baseball's first all wild-card matchup.

The Angels became the eighth straight home team to win Game 7 of the World Series. History was on their side from the start and so was an omen _ a skywriting plane put a gigantic halo over Edison Field before the first pitch.

Lackey, pitching on three days' rest, became only the second rookie to win Game 7 of the Series. He joined Babe Adams, who pitched Pittsburgh past Ty Cobb and Detroit in 1909.

Lackey wasn't even with the Angels, stuck in Triple-A, when they went 6-14 for the worst start in team history. But with both staffs worn down, the 24-year-old righty gave Anaheim exactly what it needed with five innings of one-run ball.

``It's not bad. This is where you want to be,'' Lackey said. ``It's a long way from Salt Lake.''

Anderson, now due to get the recognition he's always deserved, hit a three-run double off Livan Hernandez in the third for a 4-1 lead.

``Well, I just wanted to get into a situation where I'd be able to hit my pitch, not do too much,'' Anderson said.

Brendan Donnelly, Francisco Rodriguez and Troy Percival closed it for manager Mike Scioscia's bunch. Percival escaped a two-on, one-out jam for his third save of the Series.

``Unbelievable for us, for our fans,'' Percival said. ``This team has worked as hard as any team ever. We deserve it.''

It was particularly sweet for Scioscia, who won a title with Baker as players in 1981 for the Los Angeles Dodgers, the team that long overshadowed its neighbors to the south.

``I'm enjoying it, but what these guys have done _ they're going to enjoy it for a long time,'' Scioscia said.

Before this year, the Angels were known mostly for heartbreak, epitomized by the blown save by Donnie Moore that cost them a chance to reach the 1986 Series.

Beloved owner Gene Autry never saw his team get this far before passing away, and it didn't look like these guys would do it, either, especially after finishing 41 games out of first place in 2001.

Somehow, the Angels pulled it together. They led the majors in hitting, overwhelmed the New York Yankees and Minnesota in the AL playoffs and then knocked out Bonds and Co.

``Wherever he is, my husband is smiling down at these ballplayers and he's having a wonderful time watching me get drowned in chanpagne,'' Jackie Autry said.

Owned by The Walt Disney Co., the Angels are still for sale. A victory parade will be held at Disneyland Tuesday.

``This has taken over as the happiest place on Earth tonight,'' Disney chairman Michael Eisner said.

Anaheim and the Giants combined for a record 85 runs and 21 homers. Hernandez had been 6-0 lifetime in the postseason before losing twice to the Angels.

Hernandez walked Scott Spiezio with two outs in the second and Bengie Molina followed with a double that tied it at 1.

Molina added another double, and the hits were his way of honoring his father who was faraway. Earlier Sunday, former amateur outfielder Benjamin Molina Santana was in Puerto Rico, where he was inducted into the island's hall of fame.

The Giants took a 1-0 lead in the second on singles by Benito Santiago and J.T. Snow and a sacrifice fly by Reggie Sanders.