ANAHEIM, Calif. -- To the Anaheim Angels' way of thinking, the very concept of a single, most valuable player must seem like an anathema.

	Troy Glaus celebrates being named the World Series MVP with Jackie Autry, the widow of former owner Gene Autry.

This is a team that boasted of new heroes nearly every game and had the track record to prove its point.

If it wasn't Tim Salmon, the senior player, winning a World Series game with a homer, it was their newest addition, Francisco Rodriguez, stifling opponents with the poise of a player twice his age.

But someone had to win the Series MVP, and third baseman Troy Glaus was the chosen honoree.

"It's a great honor, obviously," said Glaus after his Angels had dispatched of the San Francisco Giants 4-1 to win Game 7. "But we play for the big trophy with the pennants on it, not for (individual awards). No one guy on this team has gotten us to this point, or carried us through this point. It's been a team effort all the way through -- 25 guys."

Glaus played a relatively small role in Game 7, walking twice and striking out twice. The series-clinching game, ironically, was the lone World Series game in which Glaus didn't hit safely. But he had already made his impact.

In the Angels' unforgettable 6-5 comeback victory Saturday in Game 6, Glaus' two-run double to the gap in left-center scored the tying and go-ahead runs. For the Series, he hit .385 (10-for-26) with three homers and eight RBI. Of his 10 hits, six were for extra-bases. He scored seven runs.

The great Glaus

A rundown of how Troy Glaus hit during the World Series: Game 1 2-for-4 with two solo home runs. Game 2 2-for-4 with a double. Game 3 2-for-5, scored two runs and had a run-scoring single in a four-run third inning. Game 4 Two-run homer in the third inning gave the Angels a 3-0 lead. Game 5 1-for-4 with an RBI double. Game 6 2-for-3, including the game-winning two-run double in the Angels' decisive three-run eighth inning.

In Game 1, his World Series debut, Glaus hit two homers, becoming just the sixth player to do so. In Game 4, he added another.

"Troy Glaus," said manager Mike Scioscia, "stepped up and did what big-game players do in a series like this. The hits he got for us were just incredible. Just his presence in the lineup was incredible. Although it was a team effort, I think Troy absolutely brought his 'A' game to the Series. You can see how talented he is."

Like the vast majority of his teammates, Glaus was a playoff rookie. With just four full seasons in the big leagues, he already ranks in the top five Angels career home run leaders. In fact, for a franchise that has included the likes of Reggie Jackson, Dave Winfield and Don Baylor, he owns the top two single-season home run marks.

Presented with the MVP trophy on the makeshift podium set up in the infield of Edison Field, Glaus seemed almost in shock.

"I was so excited just about being world champion," he said later. "(The MVP award) is just icing on the cake at this point. I don't even really know what to think. They told me go stand on the stage, so I went and stood on the stage. That was about it."

"Troy has been unbelievable the whole postseason," said Game 7 winner John Lackey. "His numbers speak for themselves."

For the Angels as a team, the encouraging thing is that the vast majority of its nucleus, Glaus included, should be around for a while. Glaus is signed through the 2004 season.

There's room for improvement. On a team of relentless battlers, who pride themselves in putting the ball in play and pressure on the opponent, he's one of the few Angels prone to strikeouts (144 this season, down from previous totals of 158 in 2001 and 163 in 2000).

"We're not a team that sits back and waits for the three-run home run," Glaus said. "We try to create situations to put pressure on the defense and pressure them into making mistakes -- doing things like that, keying on the situational hitting."

In the Series-clincher, it was Garret Anderson delivering the big blow: a three-run double that gave the Angels enough to hold off the Giants. Had the Series gone another game or two, someone else would have taken a turn in the spotlight.

"Without everybody contributing," said Glaus, "doing their job, understanding what they were supposed to do, we wouldn't be here."

But without Glaus, they wouldn't have been champions, either.

Sean McAdam of the Providence Journal covers baseball for ESPN.com.