Joining Roberto Clemente and Thurman Munson, Darryl Kile will become the third player to appear on the Hall of Fame ballot before the mandatory five-year waiting period. The 33-year-old St. Louis Cardinals pitcher was found dead in his Chicago hotel room on June 22nd, felled by heart disease.

Lou Gehrig’s consecutive games streak being broken by Cal Ripken, Jr. in 1995 is voted as baseball’s most memorable moment by the fans participating in a Major League Baseball and MasterCard promotion. Hank Aaron breaking Babe Ruth’s all-time home run record, Jackie Robinson becoming the first black to play in the major leagues, Mark McGwire breaking Roger Maris’ single-season home run record and Gehrig’s farewell speech were also in the top five events selected by the fans.

The Anaheim Angels pound out 16 hits in a 10 – 4 win over the San Francisco Giants in the World Series. Pitcher Ramón Ortiz goes five innings for the victory. Rich Aurilia and Barry Bonds hit home runs for the Giants while Scott Spiezio has three RBI for Anaheim. Giants public announcer Rene Brooks-Moon becomes the first woman to announce a World Series. Her scorecard from Game 4 is being sent to the Hall of Fame.

Florida team president David Samson, in an effort to get fans “falling back in love with the Marlins,” announces plans which include free hot dogs and a cozier atmosphere at Pro Player Stadium. The average crowd of 10,038 per home game, more than a third less than the previous season, was next-to-last in the major leagues in attendance this year.

2002 – Twenty-year-old Venezuelan righthander Francisco Rodriguez becomes the youngest pitcher ever to win a World Series game. With just 15 days of major league experience, “K-Rod” throws 37 pitches retiring nine consecutive batters in three innings to pick up the victory as the Anaheim Angels outslug the Giants in Game 2, 11 – 10. Tim Salmon goes 4 for 4 with two home runs and four RBI, while Reggie Sanders, David Bell, Jeff Kent and Barry Bonds homer for San Francisco.

2002 – The San Francisco Giants take the World Series opener with a 4 – 3 win over the Anaheim Angels. Barry Bonds, Reggie Sanders and J.T. Snow hit home runs for the Giants as pitcher Jason Schmidt gets the win. Troy Glaus hits a pair of home runs for Anaheim.

2002 – The legal suit against the fan who caught Barry Bonds’ record-breaking 73rd home run ball at Pac Bell Park, brought by three friends claiming a promise, in exchange for a ticket to the game, to split the ball’s value if caught, is settled when Jay Arsenault agrees to sell the ball and divide the money. Arsenault’s lawyer said his client had initially eluded the friends because of being overwhelmed by the situation.

2002 – Kirk Gibson signs a three-year deal to become the bench coach of the Detroit Tigers. The aggressive former outfielder joins the staff of his former 1984 teammate on the World Champion Tigers, newly-hired Detroit manager Alan Trammell.

San Francisco defeats the Cardinals, 4 – 3, to move within one game of the World Series. Benito Santiago’s two-run home run in the 8th inning is the deciding blow. Tim Worrell wins the game in relief for the Giants.