HAPPIEST TEAM ON EARTH ANGELS, FANS CELEBRATE FRANCHISE'S 1ST SERIES TITLE.Byline: Joe Haakenson Staff Writer ANAHEIM - They went to Disneyland. Not only that, but the 2002 World Series champion Angels also rode atop City of Anaheim fire trucks under sunny skies Tuesday in a parade from the Arrowhead Pond to Edison Field, where an estimated 100,000 fans were waiting for them. There, fans cheered and yelled for their new heroes. Before this season, few outside of the most devoted fans ever had heard of players such as Scott Spiezio Scott Edward Spiezio (born September 21, 1972 in Joliet, Illinois) is a Major League Baseball player with the St. Louis Cardinals. He is the son of former Cardinal Ed Spiezio. or David Eckstein David Mark Eckstein, (born January 20, 1975 in Sanford, Florida), is a Major League Baseball shortstop for the St. Louis Cardinals. He is noted for his size, as he is a small (for professional sports) 5' 7", but weighs 175 pounds. . On Tuesday, thousands wore red jerseys with the names of their favorite players on their backs. ``So I hear there are a lot of kids who skipped school today,'' Spiezio said to the fans. ``You think you would come out next year for another one? Let's get a little chant going. Re- peat! Re-peat! Re-peat!'' Before the Angels start looking ahead, they wanted the chance to celebrate their achievement with the fans whom the Angels said helped get them there. There was a cavalcade cav·al·cade n. 1. A procession of riders or horse-drawn carriages. 2. A ceremonial procession or display. 3. A succession or series: starred in a cavalcade of Broadway hits. down Main Street at Disneyland, followed by the parade and rally at Edison Field, and one last reception for the players at Disney's California Adventure Disney's California Adventure is a theme park in Anaheim, California, adjacent to Disneyland Park and part of the larger Disneyland Resort. It opened on February 8, 2001. The park is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company. . All for a team that beat the New York Yankees  Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled due to vandalism. , Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Twins are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Twins have played in the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. and
San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California that currently play in the National League West Division. New York Giants historyEarly days and the John McGraw era in the playoffs to capture the franchise's first championship in its 42-year existence. ``All the ghosts are gone, all the jinxes are gone, all the bad vibes are gone,'' said Bobby Grich Grich and fellow ex-Angel Doug DeCinces Garden Grove Garden Grove, city (1990 pop. 143,050), Orange co., S Calif., a suburb of Long Beach and Los Angeles, on the Santa Ana River; founded 1877, inc. 1956. Many of its residents work in nearby aerospace and defense installations, and there is light manufacturing. resident Jim Burgandine, 50, said he moved to Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, in 1967 from Ohio and has been an Angels fan ever since. ``I live and die for the Angels,'' he said. ``This is the passion in my life, besides my kids. This is something I didn't think I'd see in my lifetime. I can't put it into words, but I'm ecstatic. It's beyond anything I've ever felt in my life.'' He had only one regret once Game 7 ended. ``Now I'm sad the season's over,'' he said. Since winning Game 7 of the World Series on Sunday, many of the Angels' players have said these past few weeks have been like a dream. And they don't want to wake up. ``This is unbelievable,'' said Angels pitcher Jarrod Washburn Jarrod Michael Washburn (born August 13, 1974 in La Crosse, Wisconsin) is a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Seattle Mariners. Drafted by the California Angels in the 2nd round of the 1995 amateur draft out of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Washburn won the final game , who won 18 games this season, best on the team. ``This is everything you dream of and more. There's more people here today than my whole county back home (in Webster, Wis.). This is awesome. Hopefully, we'll be back here next year.'' Jackie Autry Jackie Autry, (born Jacqueline Ellam) the former owner of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and widow of singer, actor and businessman Gene Autry. She is the Honorary President of Major League Baseball's American League, an office she has held since 1999. , widow of original Angels owner Gene Autry, saluted the team and the fans, as did Anaheim mayor Tom Daly Tom Daly can refer to:
Angels manager Mike Scioscia got possibly the biggest cheers of the day, but in typical fashion he deflected praise to his players. ``It's a pleasure for me to work with the toughest and most passionate group of guys I've ever been around in baseball,'' he said. ``These guys behind me left their blood, sweat and tears on the field.'' Long Beach resident David Rivas, 14, said he has been an Angels fan all his life. His parents allowed him to miss school since this championship took more than 40 years to accomplish. ``It took them awhile,'' he said with a white Rally Monkey hanging around his neck. ``They did it for the cowboy. I know Gene Autry is looking down happy.'' Anaheim residents Eddie Harvey, 31, and Scott Nelson, 29, walked around shirtless and covered in red paint. Harvey had ``K-Rod'' and ``57'' painted on his back in honor of rookie pitcher Francisco Rodriguez. ``They have rookies who stepped up, which says something about the future of this club,'' Harvey said. ``Scioscia got everyone to believe. They finally got fan support.'' Garden Grove resident Leo Leo, in astronomy Leo [Lat.,=the lion], northern constellation lying S of Ursa Major and on the ecliptic (apparent path of the sun through the heavens) between Cancer and Virgo; it is one of the constellations of the zodiac. Melendez, 23, said he and his friends took the day off from school and work. ``We got Angels fever,'' he said. The Angels pulled together and put aside their egos to win the championship, said Melendez, who held his World Series tickets in a plastic sleeve hanging from his neck. He used to go to games when many of the seats were empty, he said. But he doesn't mind those who have jumped on the bandwagon recently. ``Bandwagon or not, this team is hot,'' Melendez said. ``This was history in the making.'' Grich compared the fan support to that given to the 1979 team, the first Angels squad to reach the playoffs. Grich said he sat in the stands in Game 6 of the World Series this year, when Spiezio's three-run home run started the club's rally from a 5-0 deficit. ``It seemed like there were 44,000 people blowing that ball over the fence,'' Grich said. ``That moment was magic. Pure magic.'' Staff writer Rodney Tanaka contributed to this report. CAPTION(S): 7 photos Photo: (1 -- color) The Angels' Scott Spiezio greets the crowd with the 2002 World Series trophy The Commissioner's Trophy is awarded each year by Major League Baseball to the team winning the World Series. Recent trophy designs consist of 30 flags representing the 30 teams in North America's two top leagues, the National League and the American League. over his shoulder during Anaheim's victory celebration Tuesday. Jeff Gritchen/Staff Photographer (2 -- 5 -- color) WILD VICTORY PARTY At top right, Angels players and coaches join Mickey Mouse on a ride down Main Street in Disneyland at the start of the Angels' World Series victory parade Tuesday. At top left, manager Mike Scioscia addresses the estimated 100,000 fans that turned out for the rally. At left, second from top, you're never too young to become an Angels fan as 1-year-old Morgan Smith of Lake Forest runs with her wings through the confetti-covered ground in the parking lot of Edison Field. At left, third from the top, several thousand fans were in attendance to cheer on the Angels at Edison Field by the parade's end, many with ThunderStix in hand. Above, Angels catcher Bengie Molina raises his hands as fans cheer. (6 -- 7 -- color) At left, Angels first baseman Scott Spiezio jumps onto the stage after he is introduced to the podium in front of Edison Field. Above, Tim Salmon, the longest-serving Angels player, has suffered with the franchise through lean times, but his perseverance was rewarded with a World Series trophy. Photos by Greg Anderson, Stephen Carr, Jeff Gritchen and the Associated Press. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion