More Fun with Numbers by Katie Casey

Thanks for playing along last week. There were many correct responses and many creative guesses, that was my intent and you surely did not disappoint. Below are my responses. I wrote both last week before posting them.

1
Rich Ashburn, who else could it be. He brought generations of Phils fans together with his dry wit on broadcasts. Older fans were lucky enough to witness his Hall of Fame career when he played centerfield for the Whiz Kids. He used to greet Garry Maddox with, "How's the Phillies 2nd greatest centerfielder today?" Once he was discussing the art of stealing bases with Juan Samuel and Sammy thought that he was just a broadcaster. Whitey pointed to the disc in the outfield of Veterans Stadium with his retired #1, growing up in the Dominican Republic, he had no idea that Richie played for the Phils. While 1 was Richie Ashburn's uniform number, that doesn't matter, because he is truly number 1 in our hearts.

39
The number of seasons that Hall of Fame broadcaster Harry Kalas called Phillies games. For most of us, that was all we knew. Summer will never be the same.

45
This being the Drunk Phils Fan site, you would be correct in assuming that this number stands for Colt 45. You would also be correct if you guessed Tug McGraw.
Actually, I could see Tugger with a cold Colt 45 after he clinched the Phillies first World Series. This was not his first. Tug was on the '69 Mets. He was still beloved by Phillies fans even though he was a former Met. It was his larger than life personality. When artificial turf was first instituted, Tug was asked if he preferred Astroturf or natural grass. In true Tug fashion, he answered that he never smoked Astroturf.

97
The number of wins the 2010 Phillies posted to give them the best record in Major League Baseball. It was the first time in their 127 year history that they had the best record in all of baseball. The best of 30 clubs! Better than the World Champion Giants. Better than the wild card Yankees. Let this fact comfort you during the cold bitter winter. We have had better records during the regular season with fewer teams in the league, but never the best.

101
The highest number of wins during the regular season. The Phillies won 101 games in consecutive years, 1976-1977. This was the beginning of the trifecta of NLE titles that eventually culminated with their World Series title in 1980.

128
This is the Phils 128th season. Who da thought, they look so good for their age. Yeah, we all know about their 10,000+ losses, but we're still here. In the beginning of the last century, Connie Mack's A's were the premiere team in town. Ownership has finally loosened up it's purse strings and with our homegrown core, it's the best time to be a Phillies fan.

420
Okay, we all know what this one means. Last year during the off season, Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum got busted for weed while driving. What i find interesting in this story was that he was speeding. Was he in a rush to buy some Doritos? It would have been fun if The Freak changed his uniform number to 420.

548
If you don't know this one, your bandwagon membership has been revoked. This is the total number of home runs that Phillies Hall of Fame third baseman Mike Schmidt had upon his retirement in 1989. While this is a respectful number let's put it in perspective. Michael Jack hit these bombs in the era of the cookie cutter stadiums. The only advantage he had was that Chicago was in the division at that time and he enjoyed a few windy days at Wrigley. Just imagine what his totals could have been with 81 games at CBP or hitting in the altitude of Colorado.

778
This is the winning percentage of the Phils in September of 2010, the best winning percentage in their history with a record of 21-6. While the last four Septembers have seemed very successful, only 2010 ranks in the top 5 Septembers in winning percentage.

778-2010
762-1887
759-1983
710-1916
704-2004

2413
This is the number of cheese steaks served in the visitors' clubhouse of CBP. In 2007, Citizen's Bank Park was awarded "Best Ballpark Eats" by the Food Network. Since the cheese steak is Philadelphia's signature sandwich, it stands to reason that the opposing players would also enjoy them. 2413 cheese steaks in 81 games, averages out to about 30 per game. There is no information available if they were wit or witout.

2744
Oops! My bad. How did this number get here. This is my ex's pin number.

3000
This number is usually a lock for Hall of Fame induction. There is only one player with exactly 3000 hits, Roberto Clemente. His last hit was a double in 1972 on the last day of the regular season before he tragically lost his life in a plane crash. 36 players have more than 3000 hits and all are in the Hall of Fame except for 3. Pete Rose, who is banned from baseball and ineligible, retired with 4256 hits. Rafael Palmeiro, with 3060 hits, is currently on the ballot but may not make to the Hall due to his steroid issues. Craig Biggio, with 3020, won't be on the ballot until next year.

8008
If you don't know what these numbers mean, what are you doing here? I just love the symmetry. This year is '11. Let's see how reflective those ones are.

358538
The number of dollar dogs sold in the 2010 season. In 2009, only 324,767 dollar dogs were purchased. The total number of dogs, dollar or full priced, consumed by the author, 0. I'm more of a Chickie's and Pete's, Bull's BBQ Pit, Tony Lukes kinda gal.

If you got 5 correct, that is enough to be a good Phillies fan. The most important numbers were 1, 97, 101, 548 and 8008. If you didn't know those numbers, you better renew you pass on the bandwagon because you're not ready to hang with the diehards yet.

The dollar dogs and cheese steaks numbers were provided by Larry Shenk's The Insider.

I didn't want to put just uniform numbers because numbers have changed over the years. Some players have changed their numbers. Word has it that Ross Gload will be sporting number 7 this season. The number of numbers that I put up for discussion, 14, the retired number of Johnny Callison. For some of us it will always bring fond memories of Pete Rose. If you played for the Phillies what would your number be and why?