When the helicopters and news vans were chasing DeMarco Murray from the Philadelphia Airport to the NovaCare Complex shortly before the running back signed with the Eagles, there’s a good chance he was reading a text from someone with firsthand experience on winning a championship in Philly.
Could Shane Victorino have helped the Eagles sign Murray?
“This is a city I’ll never forget and I hope the good times return soon,” Victorino said. “I tell athletes all the time — I texted DeMarco when he signed here — if there is a city you want to win in and understand how important it is for an athlete to win in a city like this and them falling in love with you, this is one of the best.”
There’s nothing like winning a championship in Philadelphia, says Victorino. But from the other side, there is nothing like going through the rebuilding process, either, says Victorino.
When general manager Pat Gillick traded away Bobby Abreu to kick off the 2006 rebuild, Victorino was the main beneficiary. A Rule 5 pickup in December of 2004, Victorino started 51 of the final 54 games in the ’06 season for a team that made a late run at the wild card and then won five straight NL East titles.
“They’ve done it before and I was a part of the rebuild,” Victorino said.
There are a lot of differences between the rebuilding that Victorino was a part of and the one he is watching with the Boston Red Sox. Back then, the Phillies had Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins on the cusp of winning MVP Awards and Chase Utley was entering his prime. Pat Burrell was stepping into a leadership role on a team that had Cole Hamels, who had just been called up to the big leagues, and Carlos Ruiz, who was getting his first cup of coffee.
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The future was bright for the Phillies and it was clear for anyone to see.
These days, the Phillies’ up-and-comers don’t have the same pedigree, and although Howard, Utley and Ruiz are still mainstays in the lineup, their glory days are clearly in the rear-view mirror.
The future isn’t necessarily bright for these Phillies since the best of the team’s prospects are still working their way through the minors.
“Watching from afar, there are a lot of young things that are going to happen,” Victorino said. “They have a lot of young players, and I was at that position early in my career. Hopefully they get it together soon.”
Pitching prospects Aaron Nola, Jesse Biddle, Tom Windle, Ben Lively and Zach Eflin will start the season in Double A with outfielder Roman Quinn. They should be joined by shortstop J.P. Crawford at some point this season. Meanwhile, third baseman Maikel Franco and pitcher Severino Gonzalez will open the season in Triple A, but they still need to earn a call-up.
After Abreu was traded in 2006, Gillick said it would take two years for the Phillies to be serious contenders. Needless to say, he was right on the money with that prediction. This time, Gillick said it might take a little longer for the Phillies to be as competitive.
Meanwhile, Victorino is in another rebuild of sorts with the Red Sox, who fell to last place in the AL East in 2014.
Obviously, there is a difference between the Red Sox and the Phillies’ reconstruction, says Victorino.
“The main thing is we were a year removed from the World Series, and the last winning season [with the Phillies] was 2011, and we won 102 games and were a great team that got eliminated in the first round,” Victorino said. “That kind of was the decline of Phillies baseball. But I have faith in the organization and in the guys up top.”
It’s going to take some time for the Phillies. In the meantime, Victorino will keep an eye on Murray and the Eagles and see if they get to experience what he did in 2008.