Growing up in Wailuku, Hawaii, Shane Victorino figures he knew two things about Philadelphia.
“That it’s cold,” he said by phone this week, “and obviously, Rocky. Other than that, that’s it.”
But you don’t go from the island of Maui to the big leagues — or become one of the best Hawaii-born players in baseball history — without perseverance, boundless energy and a work ethic defined by unrelenting hustle, qualities that Philadelphians happen to value in their professional athletes.
Without those things, there’s a chance Victorino would’ve quit playing in 2003 when the San Diego Padres returned him to the Los Angeles Dodgers after picking him up in the Rule 5 draft, or in 2004 when the Dodgers demoted him to double A.