Thursday trivia: Dressing for success

As trades go, especially among All-Star players, this one occurs fairly late in the offseason and also brings us to today’s installment of Thursday Trivia.

Dominating the headlines in St. Louis during the winter of 1971-72 is the bitter dispute Steve Carlton has with the Cardinals over a pay raise.

Carlton understandably wants more from the Cardinals after a 1971 season in which he wins 20 games on a contract that pays him $40,000, which back then is $5,000 less than what St. Louis is paying journeyman outfielder Jose Cardenal.

Rick Wise in 1971

Same type of headlines in Philadelphia, where Phillies pitcher Rick Wise makes a similar argument for himself after reportedly earning $45,000 while winning 17 games for a last-place team.

Oh, the two eventually get their raises, but only after the Cardinals and Phillies trade them for each other on Feb. 25, 1972.

No question, either, that Carlton goes on to spend the best part of his Hall of Fame career with the Phillies, while Wise continues with his excellent, but comparatively unheralded, career in the major leagues.

Now, the question is this: What uniform number does Carlton briefly wear after first joining the Phillies?

And, no, the number is not 32, the iconic number Carlton wears for seven seasons in St. Louis and one that belongs to Phillies pitcher Darrell Brandon at the time of Carlton’s trade to Philadelphia.

Yes, Brandon eventually cedes his No. 32 to Carlton before the 1972 season begins.

Prior to that, though, what number does Carlton wear for the Phillies during spring training? 

We can wait.

And wait.

And then wait just a little longer until you come up with the number 38.

Turns out Carlton initially receives the same number Wise wears for the Phillies from 1966-71.

Steve Carlton, center, after joining the Phillies in February 1972 and receiving Rick Wise’s No. 38.

As for Brandon, he switches to No. 30 for the next two seasons before his major league career ends in 1973.

After switching jersey numbers with Brandon, Carlton wears No. 32 for the Phillies from the end of spring training in 1972 until his release from the team midway through the 1986 season.

Carlton continues wearing No. 32 for the next 13 months after his release in 1986 as he bounces from the Phillies to the San Francisco Giants to the Chicago White Sox and then to the Cleveland Indians.

Carlton then spends his final 13 games of his 24-year career in the majors with Minnesota, where coincidentally he wears the same No. 38 he initially dons for the Phillies in 1972.