Tuesday, February 19, 2019

Uniform Number Update - 2019 Edition (Version 2)

2019 Topps Now Offseason #OS67
The Phillies' own website has been tardy in updating for new uniform numbers this offseason, so I've had to rely on Twitter to provide answers to my burning uniform number related questions.  The official team roster page still shows J.T. Realmuto's number as "--" while non-roster invitees Sean Rodriguez and Drew Butera are no where to be seen.

Here's the second post (of possibly three?) summarizing the team's uniform number developments.  The first post can be found here.

New Players (Under 60/40-Man Roster Division)
  • #10 J.T. Realmuto - Strangely enough, even with his familiar #11 available, Realmuto will wear #10 with the Phillies.  Only the Phillies know for certain, but could they be leaning towards retiring #11 (Jimmy Rollins), #6 (Ryan Howard) and #26 (Chase Utley) this summer?  Special ceremonies are planned for all three players.
Number Swaps
  • #21 Vince Velasquez - Velasquez switched to this number after wearing #28 the past three seasons with the Phillies.  Non-roster invitee Andrew Romine is currently wearing #28.
  • #38 Paco Figueroa - Figueroa had been assigned #3, but recent non-roster invitee Sean Rodriguez has claimed that number so Figuera is now #38 which was made available when Jorge Alfaro was traded to the Marlins.
  • #39 Chris Dickerson - With the arrival of Realmuto, Dickerson swaps out #10 for #39.
Numbers Available - Unofficially Retired Division
#6 Ryan Howard
#11 Jimmy Rollins
#26 Chase Utley

Numbers (Still) Available - Harper/Keuchel Division
#34, #60

With Manny Machado reportedly signing with the Padres, #13 goes back into the mix.

Numbers Available - Up for Grabs Division
#13.  After the five numbers currently unassigned listed above, and the now free and clear #13, the next available uniform number is #80.

2 comments:

Jim from Downingtown said...

Wow! That's surprising to think the Phillies are even considering retiring those numbers.

They retired Carlton's and Schmidt's numbers, but check out these comparisons:

All 5 were 1-1 in World Series competition.

Schmidt: 3x MVP, 8x HR leader, 4x RBI leader
Carlton: 4x Cy Young, 4x wins, 5x SO, 1x ERA

Howard: ROY, 1x MVP, 2x HR, 3x RBI
Rollins: 1x MVP, 1x SB
Utley: led league in nothing


Ok, I can maybe see Howard, but not the other two.

(But at least those 3 won a World Series. Donovan McNabb won squat, and Lurie couldn't retire his number fast enough!)

Steve F. said...

I doubt that Jim is implying that they are considering retiring the numbers of those three at this time--the Phils (and many teams) have a history of not assigning the numbers of recently retired stars for some time.

Also, Utley is BY FAR the best of the three. His career Wins Against Replacement total is 65.4, vs. just 15.0 for Howard and 46.3 for Rollins. His 2005 through 2009 season WAR figures (between 7.3 and 9.0) were each better than any season that either Rollins (peaked at 6.1 in 2007) or Howard (peaked at 5.2 in 2006) had. And if you don't like advanced stats and want to see what fans and his opponents thought of him, Chase was a 6-time All-Star, vs. just 3 each for Howard and Rollins. I put Chase at slightly better than even odds of getting into the Hall of Fame. I put Jimmy at maybe 10% and Ryan at under 1%.

I love Ryan and Jimmy, but Harry Kalas was right when he said, "Chase Utley, you are The Man!" (And I think the Phils will eventually retire his number if he makes the Hall.)