Phillies to retire Roy Halladay’s No. 34

No Phillies player will ever wear the number 34 again. The Phillies announced Tuesday that the late Roy Halladay will have his number, 34, retired by the team during a special ceremony in May. The date they’ve selected, May 29, commemorates the 10th anniversary of Halladay’s perfect game against the Marlins.

The game, a 7:05 Friday night start against the Nationals, will be open for single-game ticket buyers next Wednesday, the 12th, when all remaining 2020 regular season games are made available. Additional details from Todd Zolecki on Phillies.com:

Individual game tickets go on sale on Feb. 12 at Phillies.com. All fans in attendance on May 29 will receive a Halladay retired number statue upon arrival. Halladay’s No. 34 will be unveiled above the rooftop in Ashburn Alley, joining other retired numbers: Richie Ashburn (1), Robin Roberts (36), Carlton (32), Mike Schmidt (20), Jim Bunning (14) and Jackie Robinson (42). A six-foot-high No. 34 statue will be unveiled at the third-base plaza, too.

Though he spent just four seasons with the Phillies, number retirement is a fitting tribute to a player whose enormous impact on both team and city can still be felt to this day, a little more than two years after his untimely death. He finished his Phillies career with a 3.25 ERA in 702.2 innings, the aforementioned perfect game, and a timeless playoff no-hitter in 2010, along with a Cy Young Award. For his career, Doc had a 3.38 ERA in 2,749.1 innings, 2,117 strikeouts, 203 wins, and was elected to the Hall of Fame on his first ballot in 2019.

The announcement is in keeping with the club’s long-standing tradition of only retiring the numbers of Hall of Famers, although that policy could use an update for the likes of franchise legends Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, and Cole Hamels, who are borderline HoFers who may fall short of election in the future but still deserve recognition as the best players in team history. That conversation is certain to gain some momentum as Rollins, Utley, and eventually Hamels become eligible for balloting a couple years on.