No. 3: First career home run
The start of Shane Victorino’s major-league career certainly wasn’t smooth. He debuted with the Padres in 2003 as a Rule 5 draft pick, hitting just .151 in 36 games. San Diego returned him to Dodgers in May, and he spent the rest of 2003 and all of 2004 in the Dodgers’ farm system.
The Phillies decided to take a chance on Victorino in the 2004 Rule 5 draft. He didn’t make the club out of spring training and was offered back to the Dodgers. They declined, so Victorino went back down to Triple-A. He spent all year there before making his Phillies debut in September.
When Victorino finally hit his first major-league home run, it came at an opportune time. On September 22, the Phillies and Braves were in a scoreless affair at Turner field through eight innings. Michael Tucker opened up the scoring with a RBI single in the top of the ninth inning. Victorino then blew it wide open with a three-run home run in the next at-bat.
Victorino’s home run gave Philadelphia a 4-0 win, helping keep them in the wild-card race. His first career home run took some time, but it was the first of many in a quite productive career.