Shane Victorino Is Growing On People

Prior to this season, many fans questioned Shane Victorino's ability to be an effective everyday player.  In the course of the past few months, the speedy outfielder has played his way into being one of the new fan favorites in Philadelphia.  It's a combination of his lighting quick speed out of the box, his absolute cannon of an arm in right, the fact that his bobble-head is wearing a hula skirt, and his "I love to play the game" attitude that has notched him up the list of Philadelphia's favorite athletes.

Altanta Braves MVP Andrew Jones has gone as far as saying Victorino is one of the best outfielders in the game and will one day be an All Star.

Victorino had an off day yesterday but that didn't stop him from taking batting practice before the game.  Vic came up in a pitch hit situation with the bases loaded and he delivered.  He knocked a bases-clearing double over the glove of a struggling left fielder.  It put the Phils up for good and helped them take the series in St. Louis.

Shane Victorino could be manning the spot in right field, previously held by Bobby Abrea, for years in Philadelphia.  I think that's a good thing.

Comments

[ryan]

Agree 100% with the post, the only thing keeping Victorino out of the All Star picture this year is the fact that he's not widely enough known around the league. He leads the NL in outfield assists, is near the top in SB, and has shown some great clutch hitting ability...I think it's only a matter of time before he is a regular all star with gold glove consideration. I often get gitty just thinking about the future of the Phillies with some of the great stars they have (Howard, Utley, Vic, Cole, JRoll, Barajas...wait a minute, that last one doesn't belong), just hope they can keep them all together for the foreseeable future without making disastorous signings.

[GreggyD]

I know a lot of people who thought Victorino couldn't be an everyday player. Honestly, until about the end of April I even heard some people mutter "Why did we even get rid of Bobby Abreu? This kid isn't that good." Now I wasn't in that camp, but I have been a Victorino since before he got up to the majors with the Phils. I had my doubts about him at times too, but as Ryan posted above me, he is quickly becoming another key part to the Phillies young, up and coming core. His speed on the basepaths, his rocket of an arm, and his "I love playing this game" attitude will always make him a favorite in the eyes of most Philadelphia fans. He and Utley have such die hard personas towards the game and it is refreshing to see.

[Nails]

Don't forget about the sweet nickname: "The flyin’ Hawaiian"

[Jim Morris]

First time, long time. I have been pumping Victorino to my mostly mets fan friends all season, comparing him to Jose Reyes. While a direct comparison is a little off, they share some traits- the most important being the love for the game and emotion they bring to the team and the fans. Speaking of getting fans pumped up, what's with the Stitch & Pitch promo they have for tomorrow nights game? Has to be one of the weirder ones I have seen in a while.

[Ian]

What's amazing is that when the Phils drafted Victorino in the Rule 5 draft and then sent him to Scranton, his old team could have had him back for $25,000 and passed on it. I also read a column calling the Phil's Victorino pick as inconsequential.

Victorino is one of the best players at making adjustments I've ever seen. His defense, arm, stealing bases, and taking pitches more this year are things he's worked on in the past few years. If you go to Ashburn Alley to catch balls a few hours before the game Victorino is one of the players who wants to look up and say hello.

Getting rid of Abreu made sense for various reasons, but there is an offensive dropoff from Abreu's old production and what Victorino does.

I think that what is going to happen is that the Phils will let Rowand go as a free agent because he should command a big contract, and then put Victorino at CF. Victorino can be a gold glove CF and his offensive production fits better there. Then they could go look for a RF who hits more, perhaps Jermaine Dye if the price is right and he is healthy.

[enrico]

Great comments, guys. I think Victorino is a real nice player, but I don't think he's near All Star level yet. If his career progresses nicely, I wouldn't think it out of the question to see him in a mid summer classic a few times but it's not something I think is a lock by any means.

[Matt P]

Shane:
.273; 7 HR; 32 RBI; 22 SB; .341 OBP; .402 SLG
$410,000

Bobby:
.257; 4 HR; 35 RBI; 12 SB; .354 OBP; .364 SLG
$15.6 million...

Hard to argue with dumping Abreu's salary so far. Bobby had a big upswing after a terrible start, but Shane's been consistently decent at the plate and as good as any RF defensively this year. And most of his outfield assists aren't the normal "poorly judged/played catch, followed a solid throw" variety. He makes true doubles disappear.

[bigmyc04]

By my humble calculations, the only thing stopping Vic from All Star status is his less than consistent hitting. Once he hovers around the .300 mark for most of the season, he's a lock. He's gonna have the visibility. He's got a great last name. Most people know about his arm by now.

Remember, the difference between a .290 hitter and a .310 hitter over a season is simply eleven hits.

Basically, I'd take Vic hitting .290 consistently.

[T]

I haven't been able to get to a game since April 4 but will be there on Friday for first game of the Mets double header and one of the first things I'm doing is buying a Victorino shirt. He's got the whole package of a fan favorite, except the whole chicks dig the long ball thing. I think people will look past it rather quickly though. Can't wait until Burrell is gone and we have 8 true athletes in the field every game. (You can argue against Howard here, but he's a specimen of some kind) And when Hamels is pitching you can say 9 truly athletic players out there.

[gootman]

You ccould say the Phils will have athletes on the field, but Sarge and Wheels will definitely say it enough to make you puke.

[the Krisheim]

he's got a great last name? um, what?

for those of you with the "phils have cannons all over the outfield" mindset, check bill conlin's theory on that, it makes a lot of sense and has a lot to do with the ballpark.

shane is looking good, but this post is a tad premature, i'd hope every emerging talent takes BP even on his day off. no question on the abreau vs. shane thing, though, completely a different attitude and that's why people are taking to him.

wonder what cool section we'll get in the bleachers to celebrate shane's accomplishments? maybe even a drink special, if we're lucky!

[enrico]

Kreishem,

Is there anything in life that you are ever happy about? You're the type of guy who, if you won $10 million in the lottery, would then go and complain about the fact that the week before the jackpot was $50 million.

[Matt P]

where's Rob Iracane when you need him?

[Frank]

I think he's a keeper. Good arm, good attitude and a good bat...Abreu who?

[the Krisheim]

i will be so f*cking happy when one of the professional sports teams i root for actually wins something.

seriously, so happy.

so happy i might like phish, name a drink after the team's star player and even consider taking bobble head dolls on vacation with me.

believe me, i am excited as the next guy about this weekend's series against the mets, i am just not ready to run out and scream in the streets when our right fielder gets a base clearing double off a terrible st. louis team. you wanna praise someone? praise rowand, he's the one doing the dirty work when it comes to hitting these days.

go phillies.

[Ben Keeler]

I was one of the people who questioned whether or not he could be an everyday RF. Obviously I have been proven wrong. He needs to work on moving runners over better if he is going to be solid #2 hitter, but he has been a pleasant surprise.

[Matt P]

TK,
I agree that Rowand has been hitting well and is deserving of some praise... but hasn't he been getting it, both here and elsewhere? Victorino deserves his minute too. His average may not be what Rowand's is, but he's had a few dirty-work, game-winning hits of his own recently, and the fans are getting behind him. What's wrong with that? 2/3 of the Phils OF is looking more than respectable. It won't win us a championship on its own, but it's better than it could have been.