The best Angels player to wear number 40
Only 25 players have worn number 40, but it has the argument for the best talent pool out of any other number in Los Angeles Angels history. Justin Garza is wearing number 40 right now as he hopes to crack the Angels Opening Day roster or at least the MLB roster at some point in the season.
Now we'll get into the great players to wear number 40. Bartolo Colon won a Cy Young wearing number 40. Unfortunately his short stint here wasn't enough to give him this honor, even with how good he was in that season. Brian Fuentes saved 48 games one year wearing number 40, but like Colon, wasn't an Angel for very long.
Frank Tanana is one of the best starting pitchers in Angels history. He was an Angel for eight years, far more than the likes of Colon and Fuentes. He made three all-star appearances and finished top-three in the AL Cy Young balloting three times. He even won an ERA and a strikeout title. Despite his greatness, he's not the best Angel to wear the number 40 in my opinion.
Troy Percival is the best player to wear number 40 in Angels history
Troy Percival began his career in 1995 and was unbelievable from the start. He had a 1.95 ERA in 62 appearances and 74 innings pitched. He finished fourth in the AL Rookie of the Year balloting, an impressive feat considering he wasn't even the closer.
Percival made four all-star appearances in the next six seasons from 1996-2001, racking up 207 saves in the process. What blows my mind is Percival wasn't even an all-star in what was arguably his best season.
Like many other Angels, Percival was unbelievable in 2002. He had a 1.92 ERA in 58 appearances and 56.1 innings pitched. He had 40 saves and ended up finishing 15th in the AL MVP balloting. As a reliever!
Percival would cap off his season in the best way possible by converting all eight of his save opportunities in the postseason and recording the final out of the 2002 World Series. Let's just enjoy these simpler times.
Percival is the franchise leader in saves, WHIP, K/9, appearances, games finished, and ERA+. He's the best closer in Angels history and will forever be a key part of history.