The Los Angeles Angels gave out one of the worst contracts in MLB history to Josh Hamilton. The former all-star wore number 32 when he had his disappointing Angels tenure. Tucker Davidson wears the number right now, and Raisel Iglesias, the man who was traded to acquire him, wore the number 32 as well.
Brandon Wood wore it for the first of his five disappointing seasons with the Angels. Erick Aybar wore it briefly but is more known for his time in another uniform number.
33 players have worn number 32 in Angels history, but it was hard to find a player who really stuck out. After a lot of digging, one finally did.
Lee Thomas is the best player to wear number 32 in Angels history
Lee Thomas is a name most younger fans probably don't know, but he was part of the 1961 Angels. He was acquired in a trade one month into the season after playing in two games for the Yankees and Thomas ended up having a great year.
He slashed .284/.353/.491 with 24 home runs and 70 RBI in 130 games. He ended up finishing third in the Rookie of the Year balloting behind winner Don Schwall of the Red Sox. Thomas even received some minor MVP consideration, finshing 24th in the voting.
Thomas would follow up that impressive rookie season with an even better sophomore campaign. He'd slash .290/.355/.467 with 26 home runs and 104 RBI in 160 games. He appeared in both all-star games played that season and finished 11th in the AL MVP balloting.
Unfortunately Thomas declined in a big way in the 1963 season, posting a .617 OPS, and ended up playing just part of the 1964 season before being traded to the Red Sox. Thomas would never come close to the player he was in those first two seasons.
Two all-star appearances and two good years is all they got from Thomas, but that was enough to make him the best Angel to wear number 32.