Charity comes naturally to Victorino

He was born in paradise, in a place called Wailuku, on Maui, where pineapples and macadamia nuts grow on trees.

But the ones in the produce section cost money. So Shane Victorino's parents, Mike and Jocelyn, taught him to work hard. And that regardless of how many sports he played - and Shane played about 38 sports at St. Anthony High in Hawaii - there always was time to do a good deed, such as sweeping the floors at the Catholic church.

So Shane Victorino played all those sports - baseball, football, soccer, track - and he learned to hit a curveball, and he made a vow: that if he ever learned to hit a curveball really well, he'd do stuff for people. Like sweep floors at churches and other stuff.

And then the Phillies took him in the Rule 5 draft - whatever that is - and he broke into the Philadelphia lineup, in 2005.

Usually there was a night game against the Mets, or a day game against the Cubs at Wrigley, and it didn't leave time for sweeping floors at churches. But he set up a foundation and started doing stuff for a lot of people - but mostly for kids. Such as refurbishing a run-down Boys Club in an old part of North Philly they call Nicetown.

On Monday, Victorino and his wife, Melissa; former Nevada Gov. Bob Miller; and one of the big shots from International Game Technology (Staci Columbo Alonso, and good thing she's not a ballplayer with a name like that, because she probably would hurt her wrist signing autographs); kicked off a Christmas toy drive at the IGT cafeteria.

It's called Shane Victorino's Knock It Out of the Park Toy Drive, even if - and I'm just guessing here - Melissa does much of the work. But if her husband couldn't hit a curveball, this probably doesn't happen, and if Mike and Jocelyn Victorino hadn't instilled their youngest son with virtues and whatnot, it probably wouldn't have happened, either.

A lot of guys can hit a curveball, and pitch one, but not all of them are so generous. For instance, it would surprise me if John Rocker had a foundation.

(I did find a John Rocker website where you could buy his book and a T-shirt that said "Speak English" and a letter why we should all speak English, dated Sept. 25, 2006.)

"I was taught that way," said Victorino, who was wearing a red foundation T-shirt (with no invectives or restrictions on language), blue jeans and flip-flops, because it was nearly 70 degrees, in late November, and also because he grew up near sugarcane fields.

"My parents were very giving. I didn't come from a big financial family. My mom and dad worked two jobs. Get up in the morning, go clean the church, PTA, coaching soccer, always volunteering. This is all part of what I saw. I said if I ever get in position where I have financial stability, I want to give back. I was able to get in that position with my first contract, so I said, 'Let's get it going.' "

The headlines in his Wikipedia bibliography speak of his generosity:

"Phillies' Shane Victorino wins Lou Gehrig Award for character."

"Victorino earns MVP for charitable deeds."

"Shane Victorino wins Branch Rickey Award for charitable work."

"Phils' Victorino files complaint in beer incident."

(OK, so the last one doesn't have much to do with charity. But when a bleacher bum in Chicago tossed a beer at Victorino's head in 2009 - he still made the catch - he was mostly charitable afterward. "I think he needs to be held accountable. But for the most part, I just see it as the guy thought it was fun," he said.)

Victorino's benevolence and philanthropy has been much appreciated in Philadelphia, where he played eight seasons and became the first Hawaiian to play in the All-Star Game, and back home on Maui. But since he and Melissa, who met at a 51s game - Victorino was sent down to Double A two weeks later, and "she stayed with me," he said - live here during the offseason and plan to make Las Vegas their permanent home, they have extended the foundation's reach to Southern Nevada, partnering with Matthew's Closet, Shade Tree Shelter and Toys for Tots.

Today, they will spend a quiet Thanksgiving at home.

This is the weekend the Victorinos usually hold their charity golf tournament on Maui. But with Shane having changed the date so he can attend former teammate Ryan Howard's wedding, Melissa said she is going to cook a turkey and a ham - but no kalua pig and poi, because theirs will be a traditional Thanksgiving, not a Hawaiian one.

They will give thanks for their children - Keenan, Kali'a, Kingston - and other loved ones, and they will give thanks that Shane still can hit a curveball. And they will hope that a team looking for a center fielder on the cusp of turning 32 might be generous, too, because Shane's a free agent.

Shane said he's gonna take it easy, watch some football. And because he's not in Hawaii, he won't have to get up so early to watch the Lions' game. So he's thankful for that, too.

In Nicetown, back in North Philly, maybe a kid will play pingpong or shoot baskets at the refurbished Boys Club after stepping in out of the cold. And maybe he won't give thanks directly to Shane Victorino. But he'll take off his coat because it's warm inside.

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ron Kantowski can be reached at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. Follow him on Twitter: @ronkantowski.