Brandon Phillips becomes first No. 0 in Red Sox history

Veteran infielder Brandon Phillips will make a little history when he gets into a game for the Red Sox after being added to the roster from Triple-A Pawtucket on Tuesday.

He'll be wearing uniform number 0 - a first in the 118 seasons of the franchise.

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Phillips, 37, signed to a minor league deal earlier this summer, has worn No. 4 with the Reds and Angels, but that's retired by the Red Sox (Joe Cronin). According to Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com, he then asked for the "weirdest number." So he's the first 0 in Sox history.

Phillips’ no. 4 is retired and he didn’t want to mess up the mojo by asking Vazquez (7) or Workman (44) to change. Asked for “the weirdest number” the Sox had left.
— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) September 4, 2018

Brandon Phillips is the first in team history to wear No. 0. That’s zero, to be clear. Historical context via Red Sox research extraordinaire (and secret owner of @SoxNotes) Justin Long.
— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) September 4, 2018

Robert Parish (00) and Avery Bradley (0) had pretty good luck with their zeroes with the Celtics. Al Oliver (a .303 career hitter with 2,743 hits), who wore 0 with the Rangers and Expos, is probably the best 0 in MLB history.

Phillips hit .302 with four homers and 19 RBI in 38 games with the PawSox, playing second, third and DH.