When the Phillies traded for Boston Red Sox starter Clay Buchholz over the winter, Buchholz had a choice.
He could push to continue wearing the No. 11 jersey he'd worn throughout his Major League career, and he'd be well within his right to do it. After all, the No. 11 is not retired in Philadelphia. There is no rule saying he couldn't wear it. But out of respect and deference to Jimmy Rollins' career in Philly, Buchholz opted not to wear that number.
That was a cool veteran move by Buchholz, one that showed a lot of class. But it brings up an interesting dilemna for the Phillies over the next few years. What do they do with the jersey numbers worn by Rollins, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Cole Hamels, and any other Phillie who was a part of that great run from 2007-2011? Should they retire those numbers? And should they end their tradition of only retiring numbers of players who are in the Hall of Fame?
John Stolnis and Justin Klugh talk about that issue on the latest edition of The Felske Files, as well as the World Baseball Classic. Baseball needs more emotion like what we're seeing in the WBC, and the only way to get it is to allow players to show their emotions on the field and celebrate their big moments without fear of a pitcher like Jake Arrieta threatening to drill them in the back if they do. Also, we talk about ways to make the WBC better and some of its inherent flaws.
In addition, we discuss one of the weirdest games in Major League history that the team played on Friday, the latest outings from Vince Velasquez and Aaron Nola, and some positive signs from a few top prospects, including J.P. Crawford, Nick Williams and Roman Quinn.
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