Shane Victorino — veteran of the Phillies, Angels, Red Sox, and Dodgers at points in his career — will sign a one-day contract with the Phillies before retiring from baseball. Over two years after he last played baseball for an MLB team, Victorino shared with Hawaiian station KHON 2 that he’s finally ending his career officially and he’ll do it as a Phillie.
Shane Victorino will retire as a Phillie
He’ll reportedly sign a one-day contract with Philadelphia before hanging it up.
Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images
He told the outlet,
“I think it’s time to hang it up and call it a career. I’ve been blessed with that opportunity as a baseball player, as a little boy growing up in Maui, getting an opportunity to represent my state, represent my people, so it’s about that time. It’s time for me to say, it’s time for me to move on, time for me to enjoy retirement. Officially, Aug. 3 will be the date. I’ll go back to Philly and probably sign a one-day deal, and hang it up and call it a career.”
Victorino is 37 now and while he’s reportedly stayed in playing shape in the event of a return, no opportunities have come up. The closest he came was a minor league deal with the Cubs two seasons ago but he never played for the organization due to his late-career injury issues. He’ll get to retire with the team he spent seven-plus seasons with and where he won a World Series in 2008. He also won a ring with Boston in 2013.
He hit 275/.340/.425 with 108 home runs, 489 RBI, and stole 231 bases over his career, before petering out in only 71 games played between the Red Sox and Angels in 2015. He was selected to two All-Star teams and won four Gold Gloves.
As one of the most successful Hawaiian athletes of all time, Victorino told KHON 2 that he’s proud of his time in the league and the example he was able to set to children on the island. Moving forward, he plans to focus on family and spending his time with his children before they grow up and move away. That’s as good a goal as any.
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