Victorino's clutch hitting and strong defense helped the Philadelphia Phillies reach the World Series for the first time in 15 years. Now they've got a chance to win the second title in the franchise's 126-year history.

The NL champions will face either the Tampa Bay Rays or Boston Red Sox in Game 1 of the Series next Wednesday. Without the Flyin' Hawaiian, the Phillies might not have made it so far.

"This kid is definitely becoming an impact player," Phillies first-base coach Davey Lopes said Friday. "He's going to get even better. You can see how badly he wants to excel in his work ethic."

The speedy center fielder with the cool nickname seems to be right in the middle of everything this October. His grand slam off ace CC Sabathia helped the Phillies beat Milwaukee 5-2 in Game 2 of the division series, and he batted .357 in the four games against the Brewers.

Victorino drove in four runs and made a leaping catch to preserve a lead in an 8-5 win over Los Angeles in Game 2 of the NLCS. He hit the tying, two-run homer in Philadelphia's pivotal 7-5 victory in Game 4, and ran down every ball hit near his way in the series clincher.

When benches cleared during Game 3 against the Dodgers, it was Victorino — who else? — stirring things up. Instead of charging the mound after Hiroki Kuroda threw a pitch over his head, Victorino made it clear with his gestures that it would've been OK to throw at his body, but not at his head. He had words with Kuroda after grounding out and benches and bullpens emptied, but no punches were thrown.

Victorino earned praise from the media and his peers for his professional reaction and showing restraint. For the rest of the week, he was a villain in Los Angeles. Victorino was booed lustily by the normally laid-back Dodgers fans. They disliked him even more after his two-run shot off reliever Cory Wade turned the momentum of the series. As for those jeers, Victorino simply shrugged them off.

On a team filled with star players, Victorino easily gets overlooked. Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins have won MVP awards. Chase Utley is a perennial All-Star. There's Cole Hamels, Brad Lidge and Pat Burrell, too.

But the 27-year-old Victorino is tops when it comes to intangibles. His enthusiasm is infectious; his energy is contagious. He's proved he's a darn good player, too.

"I like having fun," Victorino said. "And I think that a lot of people know it."

Victorino led the team with a .293 average this season, setting career-highs in every category except stolen bases. He had 14 homers, 58 RBIs, 102 runs and 36 steals, one fewer than 2007.

In the postseason, the switch-hitter is batting .281 (9-for-32) with two homers and 11 RBIs. No player in team history — not even Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt — drove in more runs in a postseason. Not bad for a guy who's only 5-foot-9 and 180 pounds.

"He's come a long, long way. I never thought he'd be the type of hitter that he is today," said Lopes, a first-base coach with San Diego when Victorino broke in with the Padres in 2003. "When he came up, you can knock the bat out of his hands. He probably doesn't agree with that, but you can knock it right out of his hands, especially left-handed."

Victorino was drafted by the Dodgers in the sixth round of the 1999 amateur draft, but never played for them. He hit .267 while spending parts of four seasons in the minors, then was selected by San Diego in 2002 in the Rule 5 draft of players left off their team's roster.

Victorino impressed coaches during spring training, particularly with his defense. That made the decision to carry him on the roster a little easier. The Padres would've had to offer Victorino back to Los Angeles if they didn't keep him the entire year.

"He was a human highlight film for six weeks," Lopes said. "He could've been on ESPN every day by way of a catch or throw."

But Victorino struggled at the plate. He started 17 games for the Padres, hit just .151 (11-for-73) and was returned to the Dodgers in late May.

"At that time, the only thing that stopped him from being a major leaguer was his offense," Lopes said. "He had a great arm, great defense and great speed. What hurt Vic was that particular year there were a lot of injuries and he was forced to play. He was learning to switch-hit in the big leagues and that's tough to do."

Victorino spent two more years in Los Angeles' minor league system, before the Phillies took him in the 2004 Rule 5 draft. He didn't earn a roster spot in spring training, so Philadelphia had to offer him back to the Dodgers. They didn't want him, and Victorino ended up being the International League MVP with the Phillies' Triple-A club in Scranton Wilkes-Barre.

Victorino got a chance to be an everyday player after right fielder Bobby Abreu was traded to the New York Yankees in July 2006. He's been an integral part of the lineup ever since, and his gritty style made him an instant fan favorite in a blue-collar town.

"I always play hard," Victorino said. "That's the way I was brought up. It's not hard to run out a ground ball. It's not hard to chase a fly ball. I love to hustle. I love the excitement. Speed kills in this game. Speed can turn one little play into an exciting play and the next thing you know, you have a rally going."

A native of Wailuku, Victorino is proud of his Hawaiian roots. The front page of a Honolulu newspaper the day after Waipahu won the Little League World Series hangs in his locker. He grew up playing football, soccer and baseball and rooting for fellow Hawaiians like Benny Agbayani of the New York Mets.

No, Victorino didn't surf.

"I used to go boogie boarding, but never took surfing up," he said. "All my buddies did, but I used to take the time to play soccer or baseball or do things on land."

He made the right choice.