A photo of Shane Victorino.
Shane Patrick Victorino (born November 30, 1980 in Wailuku, Hawaii) is an American former outfielder in Major League Baseball. He played for the San Diego Padres, Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He was primarily a switch-hitter and threw right-handed.
Career[]
Victorino's strongest attributes are his impressive speed and great throwing ability. He is a former Hawaii state high school track and field champ (Spring, 1999) for St. Anthony High School in the 100 m, 200 m, and 400 m dashes. His 100 m time (10.80) was a state record. He has been consistently clocked at 3.7-3.8 sec. from home to first right-handed. He also has a strong arm, with 24 career outfield assists.[1]
Minor leagues[]
Victorino was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1999 in the sixth round of the 1999 amateur draft out of St. Anthony High School in Wailuku, Hawaii.[2][3] He spent most of the 1999 through 2005 seasons in the minor leagues.
Rule 5 pick[]
Victorino was selected as a Rule 5 draft pick in 2002 by the San Diego Padres, played 36 games for the Padres, but was eventually returned to the Dodgers. Victorino was again selected in the 2005 Rule 5 Draft by the Philadelphia Phillies. He again failed to stay with the major league club, and was offered back to the Dodgers. The Dodgers declined, so the Phillies retained his contract and assigned him to their minor league club in Scranton-Wilkes Barre.[4]
Philadelphia Phillies[]
Victorino obtained the nicknames "The Flyin' Hawaiian" and "The Pineapple Express" because of his island heritage and great speed.
Victorino became a starting player when he replaced Bobby Abreu, who was traded to the New York Yankees midway through the 2006 season, in right field. He then replaced Aaron Rowand who left by free agency to the San Francisco Giants, in center field.
On June 3, 2007 the Phillies celebrated "Shane Victorino Day" with Victorino hula figurines, and flew his father in from Maui for the game. Victorino ended the day's game with a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth against the Giants.[2].
2008 playoffs[]
In the 2008 NLDS Game 2 against the Milwaukee Brewers, Victorino hit a grand slam (his first ever in the major leagues, and the Phillies first post-season grand slam) off of CC Sabathia in the bottom of the 2nd inning. Victorino also became the first person in post-season history to have a home run, a double, and two steals in a single game.[5]
Victorino's success carried over into the 2008 NLCS, as he continued to make crucial hits and defensive plays for the Phillies. In Game 2 he was 2 for 5 with 4 RBIs. After the game, Victorino was informed that his grandmother had died. Game 3 saw Victorino in the midst of controversy. After being brushed back by Hiroki Kuroda, Victorino began to gesture towards the non-English speaking pitcher that it was alright that he throw inside, just as long as he didn't do so at his head. After grounding out to second, he continued to gesture at Kuroda and benches from both teams cleared. Victorino quickly became the villain for Dodger fans and was booed each time he came up to bat. After the game, Victorino was fined $2,500 by the league for his part in the incident.[6] Victorino was quick to silence the crowd during Game 4 when he hit a game-tying two run home run. In their first trip to the fall classic since 1993, the Phillies went on to win the World Series by defeating the Tampa Bay Rays.
2009 season[]
On July 9, Victorino won the All-Star Game Final Vote and was named the 33rd member of the National League's 2009 All-Star team. He is the first Hawaiian-born positional player to be named to an All-Star team.
Los Angeles Dodgers[]
On July 31, 2012, the Phillies traded Victorino to the Los Angeles Dodgers for relief pitchers Josh Lindblom and Ethan Martin.[7]
Boston Red Sox[]
On December 13, 2012, Victorino signed a 3-year, $39 million contract with the Boston Red Sox.
Los Angeles Angels[]
On July 27, 2015, Victorino was traded to the Los Angeles Angels, along with $3.8 million in cash considerations, for infielder Josh Rutledge.
Chicago Cubs[]
Victorino signed a minor league deal with the Chicago Cubs in February 2016. He was released on March 29, but re-signed with the team on a minor league deal the same day. He was released for a second time on May 23 and did not sign with another team.
Philadelphia Phillies[]
On July 3, 2018, Victorino formally announced his retirement, and on August 3, he signed a one-day contract with Philadelphia so he could retire as a member of the Phillies.
Retirement[]
On July 3, 2018, Victorino formally announced his retirement, and on August 3, he signed a one-day contract with Philadelphia so he could retire as a member of the Phillies.
Personal[]
Victorino is the son of a Maui County councilman and is an Eagle Scout.[8][9]
Victorino is married to the former Melissa Smith. Victorino and Smith wed in November 2009. On March 30, 2007, Smith gave birth to their first child, a daughter, named Kali'a Makenna Victorino. On October 1, 2010, Smith gave birth to their son Kingston Shane. During the off-seasons they live together in Las Vegas.
References[]
- ↑ Shane Victorino Statistics. Baseball Reference. Retrieved on 2008-10-31.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Kirk Lee Aeder. The Flyin' Hawaiian. Hana Hou! Vol. 11, No. 1 February/March 2008.
- ↑ Baseball Draft: 6th Round of the 1999 June Draft. baseball-reference.com. Retrieved on 2008-10-31.
- ↑ Shane Victorino Statistics (Minor Leagues). Retrieved on 2008-10-31.
- ↑ http://sports-ak.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=281002122
- ↑ http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3641859
- ↑ Ken Gurnick. Dodgers deal again, get Victorino from Phillies.
- ↑ Shane stars on big stage. MauiNews (2008-10-17). Retrieved on 2008-11-01.
- ↑ Kubota, Gary (2008-10-19). The flyin' Hawaiian. Star Bulletin. Retrieved on 2008-11-01.
External links[]
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
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