That Balls Outta Here
FanSided

Top five moments of Shane Victorino’s Phillies career

By John Town

PHILADELPHIA - OCTOBER 10: (L-R) Jayson Werth #28 and Shane Victorino #8 of the Philadelphia Phillies celebrate after Victorino made a catch at the wall for the third out of the top of the seventh inning on a ball hit by Casey Blake #30 of the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game Two of the National League Championship Series during the 2008 MLB playoffs on October 10, 2008 at Citizens Bank Ballpark in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA - OCTOBER 10: (L-R) Jayson Werth #28 and Shane Victorino #8 of the Philadelphia Phillies celebrate after Victorino made a catch at the wall for the third out of the top of the seventh inning on a ball hit by Casey Blake #30 of the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game Two of the National League Championship Series during the 2008 MLB playoffs on October 10, 2008 at Citizens Bank Ballpark in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images) /
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ST. LOUIS, MO – JULY 14: National League All-Star Shane Victorino of the Philadelphia Phillies takes batting practice before the 2009 MLB All-Star Game at Busch Stadium on July 14, 2009 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) /

No. 5: Winning 2009 All-Star Game Final Vote

Shane Victorino had a strong season in 2008 offensively, but it took him another year to become an All-Star. In the first half of the 2009 season, Victorino had a .309/.375/.464 line with six home runs, 42 runs batted in, and 15 stolen bases.

Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Raul Ibanez, and Jayson Werth were all selected to the National League All-Star team after their strong first halves in 2009. However, Victorino was left off the roster, but given the chance to make the team via the Final Vote. He was one of five finalists along with Pablo Sandoval, Mark Reynolds, Matt Kemp, and Cristian Guzman.

Victorino and the team campaigned hard to get him into the All-Star Game. Former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter helped campaign for Victorino. 94 WIP organized a promotion where several college students voted non-stop for more than two days straight at Citizens Bank Park. Even at my Phillies summer baseball camp, they were urging us to vote as much as we could for Victorino.

All the campaigning worked. Victorino received a record 15.6 million votes to get a place on the National League’s roster. With Carlos Beltran forced out due to injury and Charlie Manuel managing, Victorino even got the chance to start.

Victorino was an All-Star again two years later thanks to the Final Vote. However, his first All-Star Game and being able to start was certainly more memorable.

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