WAILUKU, Hawaii (AP) - Michael Victorino stands along Hana Highway wearing an orchid lei, smiling and waving and holding a bright green sign bearing his last name as trucks rumble by.
It's a day before Game 1 of the World Series, but he's hardly campaigning for his son, Philadelphia center fielder Shane Victorino.
Instead, dad is running for a second term to the Maui County Council. And, he's unopposed.
"I learned a long time ago, like athletics, no matter who you play, you practice the same way," he said. "I'm working hard and doing the same things if I had an opponent."
Shane Victorino had those types of messages and values instilled in him all his life - work hard, be humble and take nothing, or no one, for granted.
Already appreciated in Philadelphia, the sparkplug has become popular throughout the baseball world for his approach - and success - in leading the Phillies into Game 1 against the Tampa Bay Rays.
The Flyin' Hawaiian is definitely the talk of the town.
"Everybody is so proud," said Randall Joyo, who works at Alamo rental car. "Even tourists ask about him. They know he's from Maui."
Victorino was born and raised in this sleepy town at the base of the green and rugged West Maui mountains, where the people are as welcoming and warm as the sunshine. Wailuku is a low-key, tight-knit, shorts-and-flip flop community that has been able to preserve its old buildings, rural charm and plantation roots.
There are no swank resorts or gated mansions here, like the ones that have replaced the sugarcane fields on other parts of the island.
At Saint Anthony's, where Victorino graduated in 1999, a banner hanging on the chain-link fence reads: "We're proud of you Shane Victorino."
On Friday, the 250-student Catholic school will have Shane Victorino Day to honor their star alumnus. The students, who usually wear navy blue uniform tops, will wear Philly red.
"It's not common to come from this tiny, little school and make it out of Maui, and he's pasted all over national and local news," school spokeswoman Gin Nary said.
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