Greatest Players in Philadelphia Phillies History to Wear Nos. 1 Through 25

What’s in a number?

What is so special about the numbers on the back of a player’s uniform that getting the right one has become a bit of an obsession? Just over the offseason, new Philadelphia Phillies‘ closer Jonathan Papelbon, who had the number 58 worked into his contract, bought Antonio Bastardo a Rolex just to wear number 58.

Now, a guy that calls his alter ego “Cinco Ocho” wanting to wear number 58 is understandable, but players are rarely comfortable with their assigned uniform numbers.

Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino, Placido Polanco and a slew of other Phillies have worn several different numbers throughout their careers.

There are no magical powers in a uniform number. You can believe in luck all you want, but at the end of the day, I think we all accept that baseball is a game of talent and skill. 

But all of this talk about uniform numbers—switching them, paying other players off to get them—got me to thinking: Which players in Phillies history have worn each uniform number best?

In this slideshow, we’ll break down the history of Phillies’ uniform Nos. 1 through 25, trying to determine the best player to ever wear that uniform number. For the sake of accuracy, any player that wore the number for at least one game was eligible.

*Note: All statistics refer to the player’s tenure with the Phillies alone, unless otherwise stated.

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