When Shane Victorino came to bat for the Boston Red Sox in Monday’s season opener, the New England Sports Network listed his 2011 statistics, instead of the 2012 version, on the TV screen.
Then, soon, almost as if on cue, Victorino flashed his 2011 All-Star form.
He managed two hits in six at-bats and drove in three runs in the 8-2 victory over New York at Yankee Stadium.
Now, one opening day does not a 162-game season make, but for Victorino and the Red Sox it was precisely the kind of rebounding first step both needed. And in the Bronx to boot.
Boston is seeking to distance itself from the horrors of a 69-93 campaign, while the Maui native is trying to put a forgettable 2012 season that was filled with performance lows in the rear view mirror.
Victorino’s two-run single in the second inning and a run-producing ninth-inning single, both coming with two outs, helped both of them get pointed in the right direction, exorcising, for the moment, some of the lingering clouds from last year.
“(Monday) was a good start for our team,” Victorino texted the Star-Advertiser. “We came up with timely hits and we pitched well! I am excited to be a Red Sox and am going to work hard and play hard every game.”
After getting National League Most Valuable Player votes in 2011 (he was 13th in the balloting), Victorino seemed distracted by sluggish contract talks with Philadelphia, where he had played eight seasons and hoped to eventually finish out his playing days.
But negotiations never really got moving, the injury-riddled Phillies sagged from the beginning and Victorino got off to an awkward start, hitting .228 for the first month of the season. He was eventually swapped to the Dodgers.
Then, in an offseason of reflection and redefinition, Boston offered the promise of a fresh start in a town steeped in baseball history, not to mention a three-year deal worth $39 million. For that combination, there would be little hesitation to switch leagues, pass up a longer-term deal in Cleveland and make the move to right field, where he had not been on patrol in five seasons.
Meanwhile, the switch-hitting, Gold Glove-winning Victorino held out the promise of the kind of energy in the lineup and clubhouse and speed on the field the Red Sox coveted.
“New home, new era,” Victorino said in touting the move.
Some faithful, though, began to get concerned as Victorino labored in the spring, managing one hit in 11 World Baseball Classic at-bats and eight hits in 45 at-bats in the Grapefruit League while slowed by a sore wrist.
In Boston, where memories of the flop by highly paid, low-producing Carl Crawford remain both fresh and bitter, the best thing Victorino could do for all concerned was come out swinging in a Red Sox win.
The opening of baseball season is supposed to be about hope and renewal. For Victorino and the Red Sox on Monday, at least, it was.
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Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.
