Categories: Phillies Nuggets with Tim Kelly

Should the Phillies retire Cole Hamels’ No. 35?

Cole Hamels is one of the best pitchers in Phillies history. (Icon Sportswire)

Editor’s note: This piece was originally published in August of 2023, and is being reshared for Cole Hamels’ 40th birthday.

Cole Hamels — one of the greatest players in Philadelphia Phillies history — officially had his 15-year career come to a close last week, following a failed comeback attempt with the San Diego Padres.

It immediately started two debates; does Hamels have a Hall of Fame case and should his No. 35 be retired by the Phillies?

While there are some who believe Hamels has a case for Cooperstown, the feeling here is that he falls into a category with the likes of Tim Hudson, Roy Oswalt, Adam Wainwright and Jon Lester — pitchers who had excellent careers but are pretty easy to rule out as being Hall of Fame worthy.

Hamels unquestionably will be placed on the Wall of Fame by the Phillies, it’s just a matter of when. To this point, general manager Pat Gillick, manager Charlie Manuel and left fielder Pat Burrell are the only 2008 Phillies on the Wall of Fame. Hamels probably won’t be first in line, but he’s a lock to be placed on at some point.

The number debate is a lot more complicated because the Phillies have always kind of made the rules up as they go along.

For a long time, the Phillies said you needed to be in the Hall of Fame before having your number retired. But that wasn’t really true. Richie Ashburn’s No. 1 was retired in 1979, 16 years before he was elected to the Hall of Fame. Steve Carlton had his No. 32 retired by the Phillies in 1989, but wasn’t elected to the Hall of Fame until 1994. Robin Roberts was the first number retired by the Phillies, with his No. 36 retired by the team in March of 1962, despite his playing career not finishing until after the 1966 season.

Granted, that trio all ended up in the Hall of Fame, although Ashburn was hardly a lock given that he didn’t get elected until his case went in front of the Veteran’s Committee.

But the Phillies really opened things up in September of 2020 when — in an effort to help enhance his Hall of Fame case — they retired Dick Allen’s No. 15. While Allen probably should be enshrined in Cooperstown and may one day receive the honor posthumously, he’s not a Hall of Famer. So even if the idea of you having to be a Hall of Famer to have your number retired by the Phillies was always a bit exaggerated, it can’t be used anymore.

Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley could render the debate a moot point if they are eventually elected to the Hall of Fame; the former is entering his third year on the ballot in 2024, while the latter will debut this upcoming cycle.

Of course, it could end up that only one of the two gets in, or neither get in. Let’s say Utley gets in and Rollins falls just short; are we to believe the Phillies would retire No. 26 and reissue No. 11? If neither are elected, will the Phillies reissue both numbers eventually? Jim Bunning is a Hall of Famer, and his No. 14 is retired by the Phillies. But does anyone really think that Bunning — who spent six seasons with the Phillies — is a greater player in the franchise’s history than Rollins or Utley?

Embed from Getty Images

For that matter, the same can be said for Ryan Howard. He has already fallen off the Hall of Fame ballot. Howard was blocked by Jim Thome at first base early in his career and had the second-half of his prime destroyed by the Achilles tear that he suffered on the final play of the 2011 NLDS. But Howard had one of the greatest six-year power stretches in MLB history between 2006 and 2011, hitting 262 home runs, driving in 796 runs and posting a .929 OPS. If Utley and Rollins have their numbers retired, Howard should too.

From there, it’s just a matter of where the cutoff point is.

In parts of 10 seasons with the Phillies, Hamels went 114-90 with a 3.30 ERA and 3.47 FIP, making three All-Star Game appearances and finishing sixth or higher in NL Cy Young Award voting three times. He was part of two no-hitters; a combined one in September of 2014 and a singular one in his final start with the Phillies in July of 2015. His best argument to have his number retired is the dominant 2008 postseason he had, winning both the NLCS and World Series MVPs.

Still, it feels like Hamels could be a little short.

In a discussion like this, Hamels is hurt by the fact that the Phillies chose to rebuild during the back-half of his prime, trading him to the Texas Rangers in July of 2015. Nine-and-a-half seasons with a team is a long time, more than number retirees like Bunning, Allen and Roy Halladay. But Hamels is probably more likely to be compared with Utley, Rollins and Howard, all of whom spent at least 13 seasons in red pinstripes.

Just from an on-field perspective, the closest player in Phillies history to compare Hamels to would probably be Curt Schilling. Regardless of how you feel about Schilling personally, he was a slam-dunk Wall of Famer. There’s never really been a case made, though, that his No. 38 should be retired.

Perhaps the most telling thing from the Phillies perspective is that No. 35 has been reissued in recent years. Óscar Mercado wore it in his one-game stint with the team in 2021, and Drew Ellis has worn it in 12 games this season. Of course, as Andrew Knapp found out, numbers can be reissued and then still retired — he wore both No. 34 and No. 15 at times during his career, eventually settling on No. 5 after the other two were retired. And perhaps that will eventually be the case with Hamels’ No. 35.

But you have to ask yourself: would the Phillies have given Mercado or Ellis No. 26, No. 11 or No. 6 if they had asked? The guess here is no, and that may give you an idea about those trio of numbers being more likely to be retired by the organization than Hamels’ No. 35.