The best Angels player to wear number 43

The Los Angeles Angels have named Patrick Sandoval, the player who wears number 43 on the team right now, as their number two starter. He'll start the second game of the season after Shohei Ohtani as well as the home opener.

Starting the home opener is a well deserved honor for the southpaw who broke out in a big way in 2022. He posted a sub-3.00 ERA in 27 starts and showed the potential to be a future ace.

He's not the best Angels player to wear number 43 yet, but he's only 26 years old. With another good year or two, it'll be hard to argue against him.

George Brunet is the best player to wear number 43 in Angels history

George Brunet pitched for the Angels starting in the 1964 season. He made just 10 appearances that season, but pitched well enough to earn a full-time spot on the 1965 team. Santos posted a 2.56 ERA in 41 appearances (26 starts).

This was the first of a four year stretch from 1965-1968 which saw him post a 3.03 ERA in 161 appearances and 131 starts. He didn't win any awards, but pitched well for some poor Angels teams.

In fact, their poor teams are why Brunet led the AL in losses in 1967 when he had a 3.31 ERA and in 1968 when he had a 2.86 ERA. Can you imagine posting a sub-3.00 ERA and leading the league in losses? Yet another example of how useless that stat is.

Brunet went 54-69 in his six seasons as an Angel with a 3.13 ERA in 194 appearances and 157 starts. He gave the Angels 1,047.1 innings pitched which ranks 15th in franchise history. He also ranks sixth in ERA, sixth in WHIP and fourth in shutouts. He's not heard from much mainly because of how bad those teams were, but Brunet was a steady force for the Halos for a half decade.