VICTORINO GETS $3.1M DEAL

You can take Shane Victorino's name from the list of baseball players who were
among the 111 that originally filed for salary arbitration.

The starting center fielder of the defending World Series champion Philadelphia
Phillies has agreed to a one-year, $3.1-million contract for the coming season.

And that's not all. The 28-year-old Victorino also has been named as one of eight
outfielders on the provisional U.S. roster for the upcoming World Baseball Classic.

Over the weekend, Victorino joined fellow Valley Isle big-leaguer Kurt Suzuki of
the Oakland Athletics in headlining the Maui Baseball Expo for local youth players.

Victorino is coming off the best season of his major-league career, capped by a
strong post-season performance that featured 13 RBI as the Phillies captured their
first World Series title since 1980.

Shane, a little guy by big-league standards, came up huge during the stretch drive
of the regular season and even bigger during the post-season, driving in a team-
record 13 runs

In addition to collecting a Gold Glove for his defensive skills, Victorino batted .293
with 14 homers, 102 runs and 58 RBI. His 36 steals ranked sixth in the National
League.

He also gained the respect and admiration of the demanding fans in Philly with his
effort and his flair.

Also avoiding arbitration was Pittsburgh Pirates reliever Tyler Yates of Kauai. The
right-hander was 6-3 with a 4.66 ERA last season.

In most years, more than half the players who file reach agreements before the
swap of proposed salaries, which took place on Tuesday. Among the 110 players
who filed last year, just eight went to hearings and clubs won six of those.

The only players who won were Howard, who made $10 million, and Mets lefty
Oliver Perez, who made $6.5 million. Perez is now a free agent.

Players with three to six years of major-league service are eligible, along with the
top 17 percent by service time of players between two and three years.

Hearings will be scheduled for Feb. 1-21 in Arizona. Maui's Shane Victorino need
not make reservations. He's got a job and huge pay raise for the coming season.

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