[ MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL ]
PEORIA, Ariz. >> It's a small and exclusive club -- ballplayers from Hawaii in the major leagues. Pair of players with isle
ties try to make PadresBy Craig Gima
cgima@starbulletin.comTwo members of that Hawaii baseball fraternity may be on the San Diego Padres if right-handed pitcher Brandon Villafuerte, 27, and outfielder Shane Victorino, 22, make the cut this week.
"Benny (Agbayani), (Mike) Fetters and Sid (Fernandez) -- they set the path for the young guys. Now it's our turn to follow in their footsteps," said Victorino, a Maui boy who is likely to make the team as an outfielder.
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Shane Victorino: Padres must keep him in the big leagues or lose him to the Dodgers
"That's one thing I told my mom and dad. I said if I make the team after spring training, no matter if it's a day notice, I'll have you guys get on the first flight so you can be there for opening day," he said.
Villafuerte, who was born in Hilo and raised in Honokaa until he was 5, was acquired by the Padres from Triple-A Portland on July 21 last year as a set-up man. He's the leading candidate to be the Padres' closer while Trevor Hoffman recovers from an injury.
"I have a good feeling I'm going to make the team," Villafuerte said. "It's just that if they are going to make me the closer, are they going to give me that job exclusively or are we going to do it by committee?"
Manager Bruce Bochy is high on both players.
"We think the world of both of them," Bochy said. "Brandon, it looks like he'll be closing games for us with our closer down. He came up and did a great job. He's got good stuff and a tough kid, great makeup. Shane Victorino, who we Rule 5'd from the Dodgers, a real speedster, as good a defender as I've ever seen. He's a kid with a lot of confidence ... good players, we'll probably have both of them on our club, which means I get to go to Hawaii just to see them," he added.
If the Padres want to develop Victorino, they will have to keep him on the roster for the entire season or offer him back to the Dodgers because he was acquired from them in baseball's Rule 5 draft.
Either way, Victorino thinks he'll get to The Show.
"If I make the team, it's going to be an awesome experience, my first experience in Major League Baseball, so I think it's going to be great," he said. "If I don't make the team I know where I'll be, I'm going back to L.A. I think I'm in a pretty good position back there also. No matter which way I go I think I'm in a good position."
Growing up, Villafuerte spent summers on the Big Island, where he still has a lot of family. Agbayani was a teammate when Villafuerte played for the Hilo Stars in Hawaii Winter League Baseball.
"Every once in a while I'll call him see how he's doing," Villafuerte said, adding that he hasn't had a chance lately to talk to Agbayani, who has been on the move.
Agbayani, a former Saint Louis School and Hawaii Pacific standout, was sold to the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday, less than two weeks after signing with the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds had signed him upon his release from the Boston Red Sox.
"There (are) not many of us around (from Hawaii). We can talk about food. We can talk about music and stuff like that. I can't really talk about that with anyone else besides people who go there on vacation and go to luaus and say, 'Oh, the kalua pig was good,' " Villafuerte said.
"There's definitely a bond when you have someone from the same background as you. Like the Latin players, the Latin players they have a lot in common 'cause they're from the same place. So I guess its kind of the same way," he said.
"It's great to see Hawaii get noticed in the game of baseball," said Victorino, who keeps in touch with other players from Hawaii.
"It is a small world. I didn't know these guys growing up, but now we're in the same business and it's great that we all get along together. We are all pulling for one another. That's the way Hawaii is -- everybody is so close and family oriented."
Victorino, who attended St. Anthony's, competed in track, football and soccer in high school. He turned down a scholarship to play football at the University of Hawaii when he was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers as a sixth-round pick in the First Year Player Draft in 1999. He led all Dodger minor leaguers last year with 45 stolen bases.
In 31 relief appearances for the Padres last year as the primary set-up man, Villafuerte went 1-2 with one save with a 1.41 ERA, allowing just two home runs and holding opponents to a .248 average (29-for-117).
Once Hoffman is healthy, Villafuerte expects to have a similar role again this year with the other pitchers in the Padres' bullpen.
"I've done everything through the minor leagues, I've been a starter, middle reliever and closer too, so whatever role I fill, whatever team feels they're going to need me." Villafuerte said.
"It's his (Hoffman's) job. I'm just filling in for him right now. I just want to make the team and go out there and be able to pitch."
Villafuerte says people are underestimating the Padres' chances.
"I have a good feeling about this team. I like our lineup I think our bullpen is solid. Starting pitchers, we have a lot of young live arms, if they give us the lead late in the game then the bullpen is going to do the job," he said.
For Victorino, whatever happens, this has been a spring to remember.
"It's everything you dream of, getting to play with these guys you grew up seeing on TV," he said.
San Diego Padres
