THIS DAY IN BASEBALL October 20: Francisco Rodriguez is youngest pitcher to win World Series game

He was only 20 years old and barely two weeks into his MLB career when Francisco Rodriguez became the youngest pitcher to win a World Series game on this day in beisbol, October 20, 2002.

The Anaheim Angels reliever didn’t let his age or the pressure of October baseball get to him as he came on in the sixth inning of Game 2 against the San Francisco Giants to try to keep a lid on what turned into a see-saw slugfest the Angels eventually won 11-10.

Rodriguez kept the power-packed Giants — who hit four homers in the game — at bay over 2.2 brilliant innings during which he retired nine straight batters.

The rookie, who was promoted to the majors in late September and placed on the postseason roster due to injuries, had already won two games in the ALDS against the Yankees and two more in the ALCS vs. the Twins before his World Series win, so his performance wasn’t a total surprise to Angels fans who quickly nicknamed him “K-Rod” — the “K” for strikeout.

Rodriguez went on to be one of the best closers ever with 437 lifetime saves — sixth on the all-time list behind Mariano Rivera’s 652. K-Rod also holds the MLB record for saves in a season, with 62 in 2008.

Also on this day: In 2000, Carlos Delgado was given the American League Hank Aaron Award for being the best hitter in the AL that year. The Toronto first baseman hit .344 with 41 HR and 137 RBI. Colorado Rockies first-sacker Todd Helton was deemed the NL’s best hitter.

Toasterb at the English language Wikipedia project, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons