FALL CLASSIC

ANAHEIM, Calif. (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."
Took 42 years
The Angels took 42 years to win their first title, and didn't even need their Rally Monkey to clinch it.
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 match-up.
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.
The Rally Monkey was ready, but the mascot only showed up a couple of times on the video scoreboard.
"We love the monkey because of what it does for us. It's a good-luck charm," Lackey said. "But it's good not to see him because that means we're winning."
Only second rookie
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 righthanded pitcher 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 the Angels. Percival escaped a two-on, one-out jam for his third save of the Series.
Records
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.