PHILADELPHIA >> There really was no Shane Victorino for aspiring kids on Maui and the rest of Hawaii to emulate back when he was growing up. No one to use as a role model to give him the faith he could reach the summit if he kept working hard and kept going no matter how many obstacles might get in the way.

There is now, though, which is what makes his story so inspiring. Back home — as well as here, where the man who became known as the “Flyin’ Hawaiian” was able to touch the hearts of the fans in a city often tough to please.

On Friday the love he showered upon them during his eight-year playing career here — culminating in a 2008 World Series championship to go with being a two-time all-star — was reciprocated. Officially retiring as a Phillie to move on to what he called the next chapter of his life — a large part of which is simply being dad to his children — the 37-year-old Victorino was celebrated like a conquering hero Friday.

He was that, of course. He was one of the main forces on that 2008 team, which returned this weekend to commemorate the 10th anniversary of that title. But beyond the numbers he compiled that season — .293 with 14 homers, 58 RBIs and 36 steals — beyond the memorable grand slam he hit off Milwaukee’s C.C. Sabathia, followed by a game-tying two-run homer in Game 4 of the NLCS, they loved Victorino mainly because he reminded them of themselves.

Gritty, hard-working, down to earth … someone who never forgot where he came from regardless of all he achieved. And someone who was taught, should you succeed, to share that success with others.

That’s what the Shane Victorino Foundation and specific to here the Shane Victorino Nicetown Boys and Girls Club is all about. The Foundation, created by Shane and his wife, Melissa, in 2010 to promote opportunities for underserved youth, made its biggest mark a year later with a $1 million donation to renovate the dilapidated club in North Philadelphia.

And since being on hand for that dedication, Victorino has kept in close touch, making it a point to visit whenever he’s back in town. In fact, he was there Thursday, playing basketball with the kids and explaining his close bond to this city.

“The city made me the man I am today,” said Victorino, a recent inductee into the Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame. “Obviously with my roots growing up in Hawaii there’s a lot of similarities to the hard-working people here.

“It was a mold I think was meant to be to come here. And one of my proudest moments in the city was my Boys and Girls Club.

“Every time I’m back, I love to stop in. To be able to give back and embrace a community has meant a lot.”

Victorino’s generosity, though, has extended far beyond Nicetown, including back home where the Foundation has made sizable contributions through the years. Those figure to increase following Friday’s Mahalo Shane Retirement Party fundraiser here.

But as invaluable as that is, just as telling is the way he and fellow Hawaii athletes such as Kurt Suzuki and Kolten Wong have raised the bar for their fellow Islanders.

“When I go back and see all these kids playing ball I ask myself, ‘Do you think these kids now look at the game the way I did growing up?” admitted Victorino, a career .275 hitter with 108 homers, 489 RBIs and 231 steals. “And my friends say ‘Absolutely not. You’re the reason and Kurt Suzuki’s the reason.

“Guys who have left this island and actually accomplished something.”

Indeed, Shane Victorino accomplished a great deal over the course of his 12-year career, including winning another World Series with the 2013 Boston Red Sox. Along the way he drew the respect not only of teammates but opponents.

“He was always known as a pest,” said veteran Phillies reliever Pat Neshek, whose memories of Victorino go all the way back to when both were in the minor leagues. “Someone who was going to beat you one way or another.

“A lot of teams have these kind of guys. When I was on the Twins we called them ‘little piranhas.’ They were the guys who got on base and made you worry, then the big guys got them home.

“You loved having those guys on your team. Being on another team you wished you had a guy like that who’d run through the wall to make his team win.”

That was the essence of the Flyin’ Hawaiian, who came to Philadelphia as a 2004 Rule 5 pick after not making the Dodgers’ 40-man roster. Once he made it to stay, it didn’t take long for him to become a fan favorite.

More than a decade later he still is. “I grew up as a little boy on a little island in the middle of the ocean,” he said, looking at the improbable path that brought him here. “The game of baseball and what became reality was never part of my life growing up in Maui.

“But Philadelphia had the same kind of DNA that I had back home. Lucky for us, it all worked out.”

And even now that he’s closing the book on that part of his life he’s already looking ahead.

“Baseball has been my platform,” said Victorino, who last played with the Angels in 2015. “Now that I’m onto the next chapter it’s about how do I use my impact in making others better? … My parents instilled that in me as a kid.”

That kid would go on to make his mark here for eight years, finally saying “Aloha” to the city that always made him feel like one of their own this weekend.

Goodbye, but knowing Shane Victorino and his love for Philadelphia, certainly not farewell.

Hawaii Baseball Report by Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Scribd