6 members of the 2002 World Series Angels who have influenced the modern teams
With the World Series here, Angels fans are becoming nostalgic. Shohei Ohtani will be front and center on baseball's biggest stage while Angels fans are licking their wounds. They are rewatching old 2002 clips and reminiscing on the good old days, pretending like they did not lose one of the greatest players ever to their rival team for nothing. The early 2000s Angels, before Arte Moreno bought the team, were fun for the entire league.
Members of that championship team are still living legends. Many of them have their fingerprints on the modern iteration of their former employer's operations, not that really means much. Having said that, they have a winning pedigree and ample baseball wisdom they can impart on the players, coaches, and front office.
Let's take a look on who is staying relevant in the Angels baseball universe.
Troy Percival
Percival never held a position with the Angels, but potentially caused major ripples within the entire Angels organization during the Angels' Instructional League in 2023.
The Angels, like many teams, invite former players to help oversee minor leaguers' development during their postseason work. The Instructional League is a strength and conditioning focused camp, that includes batting practice, bullpens, and games against other teams in Arizona (the Angels' minor league facilities are located in Tempe, AZ). 2024's IL included former Angels legends like Jered Weaver and Ervin Santana working the camp, as well as Manny Ramirez whose son plays in the Angels' system. Vladimir Guerrero Sr., Adam Kennedy, and Albert Pujols have made appearances as well.
Percival's shift with the Angels was by far the most impactful, as he made his voice heard with the Angels' farm directors. Percival is quoted as saying: “I’m not one that’s big on using the iPads. I understand it...I just feel like we need to have coaches with eyes that can see things and put their hands on people and fix them. It’s really difficult to look at an iPad and think that it can make the adjustments that it needs to make.” The Angels, soon after Percival's arrival, fired two of their Minor League pitching coordinators who are analytically inclined. His anti-technology statements reverberated throughout the organization, and they overhauled their pitching coordinators with more old-school staffers like Dom Chiti. Percival said he never called for anybody to get fired.
The Angels are not completely ignorant to modern day technology capturing and data acquisition as their current pitching coach, Barry Enright, is young and seemingly analytically inclined. They are also (finally) installing pitching and hitting labs into their renovated spring training facilities, after several attempts in the past to do so.
Hopefully the Angels can keep up with the rest of the league's run prevention strategies while also adhering to Percival's complaints.
Tim Salmon and Garret Anderson
Anytime you tune into an Angels broadcast, you will likely see and hear from Salmon and Anderson.
The two sluggers take part in Angels pregame and postgame coverage, offering their insights to the viewing public. They shared an outfield in their playing days, and now they share a desk.
Like Percival, Salmon has been active during the Angels' Instructional League, educating minor leaguers on Angels history and how to be a professional.
Matt Wise and Mickey Callaway
Wise and Callaway were much less impactful than Percival, Salmon, and Anderson during the 2002 season, but both pitchers had a cup of coffee with the Angels that season. Callaway posted 34.1 innings, and Wise 8.1. Callaway pitched 38.1 innings for the Angels in 2003, before making his way to the Rangers. Wise did not pitch in 2003 due to an injury, and picked up with the Brewers in 2004.
Callaway was the Indian's pitching coach for five seasons, before being hired as the Mets' manager for two. After he was fired, the Angels hired him as their pitching coach in October. A few months later, a detailed report of Callaway's sexual harassment came out and he was promptly fired before the season began. They promoted Wise as his replacement.
Wise served as the Angels' pitching coach for four seasons, from 2020-2023, and oversaw the development of many key pitchers in the organization. First and foremost, he was Ohtani's pitching coach, but also current pitchers like Patrick Sandoval, Reid Detmers, and Tyler Anderson. Wise currently serves as the White Sox bullpen coach.
Benji Gil
A beloved figure in baseball, Gil played 61 games for the Angels during their magical season. Like virtually every other position player that year, Gil sported a great batting average. He slashed .285/.307/.431/.737.
Gil managed Team Mexico during the 2023 World Baseball Classic, but also was the Infield and Bench Coach for the Angels from 2022-2023.