A college buddy of mine lives in Jacksonville, Fla. When the Phillies acquired Shane Victorino, he assured me that the team was getting a bargain, since he had seen the outfielder during a couple of stints with the Dodgers' AA club in Jacksonville.
It's poetic justice that the "Flyin' Hawaiian" is the cat's meow these days, considering that he has finally blossomed in Philadelphia after being rejected by three organizations, including the Phillies.
Victorino was selected in the sixth round of the 1999 draft by Los Angeles. Twice, the Dodgers didn't protect him, and he was taken by San Diego in the 2002 Rule 5 draft. After a 36-game stint with the big club in 2003, the Padres returned the outfielder to the Dodgers, where he split time between Jacksonville and AAA Las Vegas for the rest of '03 and all of '04.
The Phillies took a flier on Victorino in the 2004 Rule 5 draft and passed on him when he had a disappointing spring training in '05. Los Angeles didn't want him back this time, so the Phillies sent him to AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Perhaps motivated by the rejections, Victorino hit for a .310 average for the Red Barons in 2005 with 25 doubles, 16 triples, 18 home runs and 70 runs batted in and was named the International League's Most Valuable Player. He's been wearing Phillies' pinstripes since September of that year.
His first chance to play came when Aaron Rowand missed two weeks after crashing into the center-field fence in May 2006. He got the everyday job in right field when Bobby Abreu was traded to the New York Yankees in July of that season. Going into post-season play, Victorino has a .281 career average, but it is his defense that normally opens up eyes.
I remember attending a game last season when he threw out two runners at the plate from right field. After that game, a reporter asked manager Charlie Manuel if his strength was the best thing about the outfielder's arm.
"The best thing about Victorino's arm is his accuracy," said Manuel at the time.
The Flyin' Hawaiian is not quite in the superstar class of teammates Ryan Howard and Chase Utley, but he's the closest thing to a five-tool player on this team. He can hit for average and power; he's got the best speed on the club; he's got a rifle arm; and he plays sparkling defense.
When he smacked the game-tying homer in the eighth-inning of Monday night's 7-5 win in Los Angeles, the Dodgers had only themselves to blame for not recognizing Victorino's potential.
When the Phillies acquired reserve outfielder Matt Stairs on Aug. 30, I wrote that the team seemed to fill important roles with other clubs' castoffs. Stairs had been designated for assignment by the Toronto Blue Jays the day before.
I can understand the logic in wanting a left-handed power threat off the bench when Geoff Jenkins was injured, but I was afraid that the 40-year-old Stairs, who was suiting up for his 11th team in his 16-year major-league career, didn't have much left and could turn out to be like last year's bust, Russell Branyon.
I guess Stairs gets the last laugh on me this time. His two-run blast into the seats to win Monday's game brought the Phillies to within one game of making it into the World Series.
Last week, I wrote that this team had a chance to get there. With a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven National League Championship Series, only a complete meltdown could prevent the Phillies from advancing, but stranger things have happened in baseball.
Personally, I would prefer to see Philadelphia wrap it up in Los Angeles on Wednesday. Then I won't have to spend Friday and Saturday at Citizens Bank Park chewing my fingernails to the bone.
There were some familiar faces wearing Dodger blue when Los Angeles was in town last week, the two obvious ones being Mariano Duncan and Larry Bowa in the first- and third-base coaches' boxes, respectively. Another guy looked dapper in his suit and dark shades during batting practice.
Fernando Valenzuela is a Dodger legend, having played the first 11 of his 18 seasons in Los Angeles, but he continued to play after the Dodgers released him in 1991, and he bounced around from the Mexican League to the major leagues long after an injury took away a devastating screwball that made him so effective early in his career.
"The Dodgers let me go after spring training in 1991, but I ended up playing for another seven seasons," said Valenzuela, who now does commentary for the Spanish-language radio station KHJ 930 AM.
The left-handed hurler began the 1994 season with Yucatan in the Mexican League, but the Phillies brought him aboard because they were desperate for starting pitching that season. At age 33, Valenzuela went 1-2 with a respectable 3.00 earned-run average in seven starts. He wasn't spectacular, but I remember him keeping a bad Phillies team in every game that he started.
"I don't remember much about 1994, but it was a good experience pitching in Philadelphia," he said. "I was only here for a short time, but I remember enjoying myself when I pitched here."
That was the year of the strike, and when baseball regrouped in 1995, Valenzuela had moved on to the San Diego Padres.
During an unrelated interview about another player with then-general manager Lee Thomas during spring training in 1997, I asked why he passed on bringing Fernando back in 1995. Thomas cited the pitcher's age and the fact that the Phillies had some younger guys that they wanted to bring along.
Then I reminded him that Valenzuela won 13 games for San Diego in 1996.
"I know he did," said Thomas with a laugh. "I think that's one decision where I might have made the wrong call."
Next post: Oct. 22.
© 2008 www.Bill-McFarland.com
Visit the Phillies Web site.