‘Flyin Hawaiian’ leads Phillies

Philadelphia feeds off the enthusiastic play of outfielder Shane Victorino.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Shane Victorino bounces around the clubhouse like a restless child, poking fun at teammates and everyone else while chirping incessantly.

His favorite target to pick on in the postseason has been the opponent.

Victorino’s clutch hitting and strong defense helped the Philadelphia Phillies reach the World Series for the first time in 15 years. Now they’ve got a chance to win the second title in the franchise’s 126-year history.

The NL champions will face either the Tampa Bay Rays or Boston Red Sox in Game 1 of the Series next Wednesday. Without the Flyin’ Hawaiian, the Phillies might not have made it so far.

“This kid is definitely becoming an impact player,” Phillies first-base coach Davey Lopes said Friday. “He’s going to get even better. You can see how badly he wants to excel in his work ethic.”

The speedy center fielder with the cool nickname seems to be right in the middle of everything this October. His grand slam off ace CC Sabathia helped the Phillies beat Milwaukee 5-2 in Game 2 of the division series, and he batted .357 in the four games against the Brewers.

Victorino drove in four runs and made a leaping catch to preserve a lead in an 8-5 win over Los Angeles in Game 2 of the NLCS. He hit the tying, two-run homer in Philadelphia’s pivotal 7-5 victory in Game 4, and ran down every ball hit near his way in the series clincher.

When benches cleared during Game 3 against the Dodgers, it was Victorino — who else? — stirring things up. Instead of charging the mound after Hiroki Kuroda threw a pitch over his head, Victorino made it clear with his gestures that it would’ve been OK to throw at his body, but not at his head. He had words with Kuroda after grounding out and benches and bullpens emptied, but no punches were thrown.

Victorino earned praise from the media and his peers for his professional reaction and showing restraint. For the rest of the week, he was a villain in Los Angeles. Victorino was booed lustily by the normally laid-back Dodgers fans. They disliked him even more after his two-run shot off reliever Cory Wade turned the momentum of the series. As for those jeers, Victorino simply shrugged them off.

The 27-year-old Victorino is tops when it comes to intangibles. His enthusiasm is infectious; his energy is contagious. He’s proved he’s a darn good player, too.

“I like having fun,” Victorino said. “And I think that a lot of people know it.”

Victorino led the team with a .293 average this season, setting career-highs in every category except stolen bases.

He had 14 homers, 58 RBIs, 102 runs and 36 steals, one fewer than 2007.