8 current Phillies who are the best to wear their uniform number in franchise history

Players can make a number iconic through their accomplishments with a franchise. Here are eight current Phillies players who hold the title of the best to wear their number in team history.

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No. 10: J.T. Realmuto

This is probably the most controversial one we'll come across. The old-timers will scream "Larry Bowa!" pointing to the many hits and steals he accumulated en route to numerous all-star selections, a pair of Gold Gloves, and a stake in the 1980 World Series-winning club.

Those of a younger generation will counter with Darren Daulton, the man whom I had residing at this number until my most recent update. Possessing many of the same leadership intangibles as Bowa, Dutch led the NL in RBI in 1992, and he collected several accolades along the way while smashing 134 home runs while donning number 10 for the Phils.

It's a tough call, and the individual performances of both Bowa and Daulton should always be lauded, but I believe that J.T. Realmuto now takes the number. He has performed exactly how the team hoped that he would after they acquired him before the 2019 season. Taken on the whole, he has been the best player in baseball at his position in the half-decade since.

While I could take the easy way out and say that the player with the most hits accumulated or the most All-Star selections at a given number is the "best" to ever wear it for the Phillies, a player's peak has to be considered. Realmuto still has more time to make an even stronger argument here but, even at this moment, his excellent play at a demanding position vaults him to the top of my list.

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