Spirit of giving

Shane Victorino’s immense success on the field can be measured with awards. Three Gold Gloves, two All-Star appearances and one World Series championship highlight the resume of one of the most talented professional baseball players ever from the state of Hawaii.

His charitable work off the field —the Shane Victorino Foundation —isn’t about awards as much as helping the lives of underserved children in Philadelphia and Hawaii with various educational and wellness programs.

But there comes a time where even that work deserves its share of acclaim, and on Nov. 13, the St. Anthony alumnus was given the Branch Rickey Award for humanitarian service in baseball.

"Next to a World Series championship that’s probably my greatest accomplishment," Victorino said last week prior at an autograph signing at Ala Moana Center. "To be awarded from a guy like Branch Rickey — a guy who broke the barrier by signing Jackie Robinson to play baseball — to be put in that category and be a recipient of that award means so much more knowing what that guy did."

The Shane Victorino Foundation raised nearly a million dollars to renovate a Boys & Girls Club in Nicetown, Pa., renaming it the Shane Victorino Nicetown Boys & Girls Club when it opened back in September.

The Victorino Foundation has also raised nearly $500,000 for various charities in Hawaii, including the Hawaii Children’s Cancer Foundation, Boys & Girls Clubs of Maui and the Alzheimer’s Association, Aloha Chapter.

Victorino said all the work he has put into his foundation can be traced back to the way he was raised as a kid on Maui.

"It all starts with my mom and dad, and I’ve watched my dad be a part of the community his entire life and even to this day as a city councilman," Victorino said. "Growing up and watching that, I always said if I was ever able to put myself in a financial position to where I can do something like start a foundation, I’d do that and try to make a real impact on the community."

All of this work is made possible by what the Philadelphia Phillies outfielder has achieved in professional baseball.

After bouncing around the minor leagues for the majority of six years, Victorino has found a home in Philadelphia, playing for a perennial World Series contender.

But with that success comes a certain amount of pressure. This year’s Phillies won 102 games and blew away the rest of the NL East, winning the division by a staggering 13 games.

It all came to a sudden end in the division round of the playoffs when Philadelphia lost in a decisive fifth game to the eventual World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals.

Victorino called it the toughest loss of his career.

"I think our team was special. That night when it ended I knew potentially I could not be playing with a lot of guys on that team," Victorino said. "I knew I may never play with a lot of guys who I’ve become close to and you want to win with them."

Victorino did his part to help the Phillies win their fifth straight division title, hitting .279 with 17 homers and 95 runs. His career-high 16 triples led the National League, even though he missed 30 games, mostly due to a pair of injuries.

Victorino was placed on the disabled list twice, the second time in early July after injuring his thumb while falling down trying to make a throw in a game in Toronto.

At the time, he was hitting .303 with an OPS of .900.

"It was a situation where I never want to get hurt obviously, but if I do get hurt I want to get back out on the field as quickly as I can," he said. "But was I pleased with my year? Yeah, I was pleased with the way I played when I was out there and healthy, and hopefully 2012 will be that much better."

Victorino got his cleat caught in the turf and fell over trying to make the throw. Admittedly embarrassed at the awkwardness of the play, he first tried to say the injury was to his ankle.

"At that time, my ego was broken a little bit and I played it off like I hurt my ankle, but I really didn’t," Victorino said. "My thumb was bothering me and it was a very embarrassing moment for me and I hope it doesn’t happen again."

That didn’t keep his teammates from ragging him the next day, putting white tape in center field to outline Victorino’s body where he had fallen to the ground.

"They had some fun with it, but I’m going to get those guys," he said. "I know who the culprit was."

An engaging and charismatic person, Victorino has taken a liking to Twitter, which he finally signed up for in September.

In exactly two months, he’s accumulated more than 62,000 followers, and he says it’s only a matter of time before he catches teammates Jimmy Rollins and Hunter Pence.

"Hunter’s got over 100,000 and Jimmy’s got 95,000, so he’s close," Victorino said. "I got a lot of catching up to do, but I got over 60,000 in two months, so I’m doing OK."

He was quick to point out fans can follow him at @ShaneVictorino.