Phillies won't wear Halladay's No. 34 in 2018
PHILADELPHIA -- The Phillies will honor Roy Halladay in at least one way in 2018.
Nobody will wear No. 34, which he wore from 2010-13. Halladay died Nov. 7 when his ICON A5 aircraft crashed into the Gulf of Mexico. He was 40 years old. Despite spending just four seasons with the Phillies, Halladay left a tremendous impression on the organization and the city. He won the 2010 National League Cy Young Award, threw a perfect game and a postseason no-hitter. He continued his relationship with the Phillies this spring, coming aboard as a mental skills coach at Carpenter Complex in Clearwater, Fla.
Phillies catcher Andrew Knapp wore Halladay's number last season, but he recently switched to No. 15, which he wore at Cal-Berkeley.
The Phillies assigned Knapp No. 34 at the end of Spring Training when he made the Opening Day roster, but at the time he expressed reservations about wearing Halladay's number. After Halladay died, the Phillies talked internally about what to do with No. 34. They called Knapp to see if he had any thoughts about it.
Knapp said he actually planned to call the Phillies, seeing if he could switch numbers out of respect for Halladay.
It is unclear how else the Phillies might recognize or honor Halladay next season.
Other notable number selections: Carlos Santana will wear No. 41, which he wore for eight seasons with the Indians. Former Phillies manager Charlie Manuel wore No. 41 from 2005-13. Jimmy Paredes (2016) and Brock Stassi (2017) have worn it since.
Right-hander Pat Neshek will wear No. 93. He will be the first player in baseball history to wear it.