| Shane Victorino | |
|---|---|
 Victorino with the Boston Red Sox in 2013 | |
| Outfielder | |
| Born: (1980-11-30)November 30, 1980 (age 44) Wailuku, Hawaii, U.S. | |
Batted: Switch Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 2, 2003, for the San Diego Padres | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| October 4, 2015, for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .275 |
| Home runs | 108 |
| Runs batted in | 489 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Shane Patrick Victorino (born November 30, 1980), nicknamed "the Flyin' Hawaiian", is an American former professionalbaseballoutfielder. He played inMajor League Baseball (MLB) for theSan Diego Padres,Philadelphia Phillies,Los Angeles Dodgers,Boston Red Sox, andLos Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He was primarily aswitch-hitter until the 2013 season, when discomfort from various hamstring, back, and knee problems forced him to become an exclusively right-handed batter.
Victorino made his MLB debut with the Padres in 2003. He played for the Phillies from 2005 through 2012. With the Phillies, Victorino won threeGold Glove Awards, was named to twoMLB All-Star Games, and was a member of the2008 World Series champions. With the Red Sox, Victorino won his fourth Gold Glove Award and was a member of the2013 World Series champions. He also won theLou Gehrig Memorial Award in 2008 and theBranch Rickey Award in 2011.
Victorino was born on November 30, 1980, in Wailuku, Hawaii. He is the youngest son born toMike, Sr. and Joycelyn Victorino in Hawaii. When Victorino was very young he was diagnosed withattention deficit hyperactivity disorder.[1]
Victorino played baseball,soccer,basketball andfootball in his youth and rantrack. As a senior atSt. Anthony High School inWailuku, he won state championships in the100,200 and400 meters. His 100-meter time set a state record.[1] On the football field, he was aplacekicker andslotback for head coachCharlie Ane.[1][2]
Victorino signed a letter of intent to playcollege baseball for theHawaii Rainbow Warriors prior to the1999 MLB draft. After he was selected by theLos Angeles Dodgers in the sixth round,June Jones also offered Victorino a scholarship to play for theHawaii Rainbow Warriors football team. He signed instead with Dodgers on June 8, 1999.[2]
He spent the 1999 through 2002 seasons in the Dodgers minor league system, reaching Double-A with theJacksonville Suns of theSouthern League in 2002.
Victorino was selected in the 2002Rule 5 draft by theSan Diego Padres and made his Major League debut for the Padres on April 2, 2003, as a late inning defensive replacement against theSan Francisco Giants. He recorded his first at-bat the following day against the Dodgers, grounding out to third base. He did not record his first hit until April 20, when he singled to right field offShawn Chacón of theColorado Rockies. He played in 36 games for the Padres with a .151 batting average. On May 28 he was returned by the Padres to the Dodgers.
After playing two more seasons in the Dodgers farm system, with Jacksonville and theLas Vegas 51s of the Triple-APacific Coast League. Victorino was again selected in the Rule 5 draft, on December 13, 2004, by thePhiladelphia 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 Triple-A minor league club, theScranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons of theInternational League.[3] He hit .310 in 126 games with the Red Barons, with 18 home runs and 70 RBI, earning International League All-Star and Most Valuable Player honors. Additionally, he was selected as aBaseball America second team Minor League All-Star, a Triple-A All-Star and Phillies Minor League Player of the Year.
Victorino received a September call-up to the Phillies and hit his first MLB home run on September 22 offTim Hudson of theAtlanta Braves.
Victorino became a starting player when he replacedBobby Abreu midway through the2006 season in right field.[4]
Victorino replacedAaron Rowand, who left by free agency, in center field in 2008. He was a right fielder in 2007.[5]
On June 3, 2007, the Phillies celebrated "Shane Victorino Day" with Victorino hula figurines, and flew his father in fromMaui for the game. Victorino ended the day's game with a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth against the Giants.[6]
In the2008 NLDS Game 2 against theMilwaukee Brewers, Victorino hit agrand slam (his first ever in the major leagues, and the Phillies' first postseason grand slam) offCC Sabathia in the bottom of the 2nd inning. Victorino also became the first player in postseason history to have a home run, a double, and two steals in a single game.[7] In 2008, Victorino received theLou Gehrig Memorial Award.[8][9]
Victorino's success carried over into the2008 NLCS, as he continued to make crucial hits and defensive plays for the Phillies. In Game 2, he was 2-for-5 with four 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 byHiroki Kuroda, Victorino began to gesture towards the non-English-speaking pitcher that it was alright that he throw inside, just as long as he did not 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.[10] 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 since1993, the Phillies went on to win the2008 World Series by defeating theTampa Bay Rays.
On July 9, 2009, Victorino won theAll-Star Game Final Vote with a record-breaking 15.6 million votes and was named the 33rd member of the National League's 2009 All-Star team.[11] He was the first Hawaiian-born positional player to be named to an All-Star team. On August 12, in a game against theChicago Cubs atWrigley Field, Victorino was hit with a full cup of beer while making a catch. A complaint was filed with the Chicago police by Victorino and the Cubs,[12] and the fan was charged with two misdemeanor counts.[13] For the 2009 season, Victorino's 13 triples led the majors,[14] and he won his second consecutive Rawlings Gold Glove Award in the outfield. After the season, the Phillies and Victorino agreed to a three-year contract extension, avoiding salary arbitration and buying out his first year of free agency.[15]
In 2010, Victorino set career highs with 18 home runs and 69 RBIs. He also led all National League outfielders with 11 assists and won his third consecutive Gold Glove Award. In the first inning of the clinching Game 3 of the 2010NLDS against Cincinnati, Victorino made a superb running-and-reaching catch of a line drive in the alley. Without that catch, the game would have been tied, 1–1, with the hitter now on second and a possible big inning for the Reds. Instead, the catch preserved a 1–0 lead.[16] However, in the NLCS, Victorino posted a mere .208 batting average with just two RBIs and six strikeouts against the eventual World Series Champion San Francisco Giants. In 2010, he received theTug McGraw "Good Guy Award" from the Philadelphia chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America.[17]
In September 2011, Victorino was named the winner of theBranch Rickey Award by the Rotary Club of Denver.[18]
In 2012 with the Phillies, Victorino played in 101 games and hit .261 with nine homers, 40 RBI and 24 steals.
Victorino was traded back to the Dodgers on July 31, 2012, forJosh Lindblom,Ethan Martin and a player to be named later, who later turned out to be grandson of Dodgers Hall of Fame Spanish announcer Stefan Jarrín.[19][20] Victorino played in 53 games with the Dodgers, primarily inleft field and hit .245 with two homers, 15 RBI and 15 steals.
On December 13, 2012, Victorino signed a three-year, $39 million contract with theBoston Red Sox.[21]
On May 12, 2013, Victorino collided with the right field wall and was injured. However, he stayed in the game for two more innings. He was placed on the disabled list on May 24 (retroactive to May 21) with a hamstring strain, and re-activated on June 8.
Victorino was named AL Player of the Week for July 29–August 4.
On October 19, 2013, Victorino hit a go-aheadgrand slam in the bottom of the seventh inning, over theGreen Monster, in Game 6 of the ALCS. The grand slam put the Red Sox up 5–2 over theDetroit Tigers, and sent the Red Sox to theWorld Series. With this, Shane joinedJim Thome as the only other player to have hit two postseason grand slams at the time.
Victorino received the American LeagueGold Glove Award for his outstanding play in right field. He compiled a 25.0 UZR (Ultimate Zone Rating) and had 264 putouts along with 9 assists.
On Wednesday, October 30, Victorino won his second World Series ring after the Red Sox's victory over the St. Louis Cardinals, and in that game he drove in four of the six runs they scored that night, three of which were on a bases-clearing double off theGreen Monster in the third inning.[22]
On April 30, 2014, Victorino and teammateWill Middlebrooks returned from injury toFenway Park, in a game where the Red Sox won 7–4 againstTampa Bay Rays.[23]
Victorino only played in 30 games in 2014, spending much of the 2014 season on the disabled list. He batted exclusively right-handed in those 30 games. He had season-ending lumbar discectomy back surgery on August 5.[24]
On April 25, 2015, Victorino was placed on the 15-day disabled list due to a hamstring strain.[25]
On July 27, 2015, Victorino was traded to theLos Angeles Angels of Anaheim, along with $3.8 million in cash considerations, for infielderJosh Rutledge.[26] His combined record with the Red Sox and Angels in 2015 was 71 games played, batting .230, with 7 RBIs and 1 home run. He filed for free agency on November 2, 2015.[27]
Victorino signed a minor league deal with theChicago Cubs in February 2016. He was released on March 29, but re-signed with the team on a minor league deal the same day.[28] He was released for a second time on May 23 and did not sign with another team.[29]
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.[30][31]
On May 19, 2023, Victorino made an appearance and doubled for theSavannah Bananas when they played in Las Vegas.[32]
On October 9, 2025, Victorino was announced as the "primetime coach" of theLoco Beach Coconuts, the newest team (along with the revival of the formerNegro LeaguesIndianapolis Clowns) in theBananaball Championship League.[33]
Victorino is the son of former Maui County MayorMike Victorino,[34] and is anEagle Scout.[35] His father is a former State Representative in Hawaii and the current Supreme Warden for theKnights of Columbus, and Shane is a member.[36]
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. On October 1, 2010, Smith gave birth to their son. During the off-seasons they live inLas Vegas.[37]
Victorino is ofPortuguese,Hawaiian,Japanese, andEnglish descent.[38][39] His last name is of Portuguese origin. In an interview withThe Philadelphia Inquirer in 2011, he explained: "My name is really Victorine, which is Portuguese. My great-great-grandpa, when he was in the war, they spelled his name with an O at the end instead of an E, and it became Victorino."[17] He is aSansei or third-generation Japanese-American on his mother's side.[40] Former Major League pitcherKanekoa Texeira is a distant cousin of Victorino.[41]
Victorino is a fan of reggae musicianBob Marley and used Marley's songs "Buffalo Soldier" and "Three Little Birds" as at-bat music when he played for the Phillies and Red Sox, respectively. The crowd at Fenway Park would typically sing along with the chorus of "Three Little Birds" whenever Victorino came to bat.[42] When Victorino was traded to the Angels, he ceased using "Three Little Birds" as his at-bat music out of respect for the Red Sox and their fans.[43][44]
Victorino had a brief acting role in an episode ofHawaii Five-0, playing a character called Shaun.[45]
