Red-hot offense keys Angels' title

Anaheim had a .310 batting average in the series and scored 41 runs.
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- The Anaheim Angels started hitting like crazy against the New York Yankees in their AL division series.
They never stopped.
And that's the main reason they're World Series champions for the first time in their 42-season history.
"You've got to give credit to the Angels," San Francisco general manager Brian Sabean said after Game 7. "If it was their turn, they probably would have beaten Nolan Ryan.
"Base hits win games. Three-run home runs don't necessarily win games. They're a team that does both."
From Series MVP Troy Glaus to Tim Salmon, from Scott Spiezio to David Eckstein, from Garret Anderson to Darin Erstad, the Angels were virtually unstoppable, battering the San Francisco pitching staff for a .310 batting average and 41 runs.
They beat the Giants in the highest-scoring Series ever despite allowing 44 runs, including 16 in Game 5.
Solid hitters
"We have guys on our team that can hit home runs, and we have in the postseason," Glaus said. "That's not necessarily the approach we go out with. But if they happen, great.
"We're not a team that sits back and waits for a three-run home run. We try to create situations, put pressure on the defense and pressure them into making mistakes and doing things like that, keying on the situational hitting."
Actually, it all began last spring with manager Mike Scioscia emphasizing a different approach in that area.
"For the first meeting, we talked about the type of offense we needed to sustain the long haul, to get into the playoffs and to get where we wanted to be," Scioscia said. "We planted the seed, and these guys, they picked it up and ran with it.
"They were getting on each other if they weren't executing in the situations they needed."
Strong postseason
The Angels were at their best executing in the postseason, constantly putting pressure on the opposition by hitting-and-running, stealing and -- surprise -- hitting the long ball.
They led the majors with a .282 team batting average during the season, but ranked 10th in the AL with 152 homers.
They hit 24 in 16 postseason games, which would have been a new record had the Giants not hit 27.
Glaus, who hit .385 in the Series with 10 hits in 26 at-bats including three doubles and three homers and eight RBIs, remembers the dialogue well
"He just said, 'We need to step it up,' " Glaus said. "Basically, he just said, 'This is a team, we have a team concept, we play team baseball. Everybody has a role, and we need to just improve on that situation.' "
The Angels hit .376 in beating the Yankees in four games, and kept it up their hot hitting against the Twins and Giants.
When the postseason was over, they had a .320 average in 16 games despite getting only five hits in Game 7 of the Series.
Glaus hit .250 with 30 homers and 111 RBIs during the season, stepped it up in the postseason, batting .344 with seven homers and 13 RBIs.
"This is why we play," he said. "This is why we put all the time and effort in."