<P> Like the Giants, the Angels and their fans carried a long history of futility and disappointment . Enfranchised in 1961, the Angels had never before played in the World Series . They came close several times, including ALCS losses in 1979 to the Baltimore Orioles, 1982 to the Milwaukee Brewers, and in 1986 to the Boston Red Sox . After dropping the 1979 ALCS in four games, the Angels brought their opponents to the brink of elimination in each of those last two series, before losing the next three consecutive games and the series . The 1986 ALCS, in which the Angels were as close as 1 strike away from the World Series, was the Angels' latest postseason appearance, though they came close in 1995 when they lost a one - game tie - breaker for the AL West championship to the Seattle Mariners after blowing a 14 - game lead in the standings . </P> <P> 2002 was the Angels' third season under manager Mike Scioscia . The Angels finished the previous injury marred season with a record of 75--87, finishing in third place in the AL West . The most notable personnel change during the offseason was the trade of first baseman Mo Vaughn to the New York Mets in exchange for pitcher Kevin Appier . Offensively, the team was led by longtime Angels Garret Anderson, Darin Erstad, Troy Glaus and Tim Salmon, as well as relative newcomers Adam Kennedy and David Eckstein . The starting pitching rotation was led by Ramón Ortiz and Jarrod Washburn, as well as mid-season call - up John Lackey, while the bullpen was led by setup man Brendan Donnelly and closer Troy Percival . The bullpen was bolstered in late September by the addition of 20 - year - old reliever prospect Francisco Rodriguez . </P> <P> The Angels spent much of the season trailing the first - place Seattle Mariners and on occasion the Oakland Athletics in the AL West standings . However, the A's and Angels both mounted late - season comebacks that, coupled with a poor August record for the Mariners, knocked the Mariners down to third place . The A's won 20 straight games at one point, and the Angels finished the season in second place with a 99--63 record, four games behind the A's, but won the AL wild card, six games ahead of the Boston Red Sox and Seattle Mariners . Their 99 wins was third best in the A.L. and fourth best in baseball . </P> <P> AL Anaheim Angels (4) vs. NL San Francisco Giants (3) </P>

When was the last time the angels were in the world series