The 2002 World Series was a best-of-seven playoff series to determine the champion of Major League Baseball for the 2002 season. It was the 98th series between the champions of the American League (AL) and National League (NL), here respectively the Anaheim Angels and the San Francisco Giants. The series was played from October 19–27, 2002 at Pacific Bell Park (now AT&T Park) in San Francisco and Edison International Field of Anaheim (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim) in Anaheim. The Angels defeated the Giants four games to three to win the franchise's first championship.

The series was the first time since the 1995 inception of the wild card in Major League Baseball that both wild card teams would vie for the title. The Angels finished the regular season in second place in the American League West, four games behind the AL West champion Oakland Athletics. They defeated the New York Yankees in the best-of-five American League Division Series (ALDS), and in doing so won their first postseason series in franchise history. They then defeated the Minnesota Twins in the best-of-seven American League Championship Series (ALCS) to advance to the World Series, another first in franchise history.

The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB), played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy. As the series is played in October, Major League Baseball also refers to it as the "Fall Classic". The most recent World Series was won by the St. Louis Cardinals, who defeated the Texas Rangers in 7 games in 2011.

The New York Yankees of the American League have played in 40 World Series and won 27, and the Oakland/Philadelphia Athletics have played in 14 and won 9. In the National League, the St. Louis Cardinals have played in 18 and won 11, while the San Francisco/New York Giants and Los Angeles/Brooklyn Dodgers have both appeared in 18 and won 6.

Until the formation of the American Association in 1882 as a second major league, the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (1871–75) and then the National League (founded 1876) represented the top level of organized baseball in the United States. All championships went to whoever had the best record at the end of the season, without a postseason series being played. Starting in 1884 and going through 1890, the National League and the American Association faced each other in a series of games at the end of the season to determine an overall champion. These matchups were disorganized in comparison to the modern Series: games played ranged from as few as three in 1884 (Providence defeated New York 3 games to zero), to a high of 15 in 1887 (Detroit beat St. Louis 10 games to 5), and both the 1885 and 1890 Series ended in ties, each team having won three games with one tie game.

Barry Lamar Bonds (born July 24, 1964) is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder. Bonds played from 1986 to 2007, for the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants. He is the son of former major league All-Star Bobby Bonds. He debuted in the Major Leagues with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1986 and joined the San Francisco Giants in 1993, where he stayed through 2007.

Bonds' accomplishments during his baseball career place him among the greatest baseball players of all-time. He has a record-setting seven Most Valuable Player awards, including a record-setting four consecutive MVPs. He is a 14-time All-Star and 8-time Gold Glove-winner. He holds numerous Major League Baseball records, including the all-time Major League Baseball home run record with 762 and the single-season Major League record for home runs with 73 (set in 2001), and is also the all-time career leader in both walks (2,558) and intentional walks (688).

Bonds has led a controversial career, notably as a central figure in baseball's steroids scandal. In 2007, he was indicted on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice for allegedly lying to the grand jury during the government's investigation of BALCO, by testifying that he never knowingly took any illegal steroids. The trial began March 21, 2011; he was convicted on April 13, 2011 on the obstruction of justice charge.