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The Phillies inked lighting-fast center fielder Shane Victorino to a three-year, $22 million deal that would keep him in Philadelphia through 2012.
The Phightins avoided arbitration by inking Suga Shane to an extension mere hours after avoiding arbitration with pitcher Joe Blanton who got a three-year, $24 million extension.
Shane Victorino, a.k.a. the Flyin Hawaiian, first became a household name for the Phillies in 2006 when he replaced Bobby Abreu in right field. He then then made the move to center when Aaron Rowand left after the 2007 season.
He quickly became a fan favorite because of his hustle, fiery attitude and major contributions to the 2008 World Champion Phils.
The admiration of the Phillies' faithful was on display this past season when Victorino won the All-Star Game Final Vote with a record-breaking 15.6 million votes. It wasn't like he wasn't deserving a spot on the NL Squad after batting a solid .292 with 39 doubles, 13 triples, 10 home runs, 62 RBI and 25 steals.
He was the first Hawaiian-born positional player to be named to an All-Star team.
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He topped off his impressive 2009 season with his second consecutive Gold Glove.
It made sense for general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. and the Phillies to buy out Shane's arbitration year and lock him in for a few seasons beyond that.
The Flyin Hawaiian made $3.125 million last season, and had originally asked for $5.8 million in arbitration but he earned a lot more than that by inking the $22 million deal.
The Victorino deal left catcher Carlos Ruiz as the only remaining Phillie in arbitration. The team hoped to sign him within a week.
