Sam Donnellon: Phillies' Victorino on campaign trail to make All-Star Game

"They love me in Vegas,'' he said of his adopted hometown. "Gave me the keys to the city.'' Goodman, a Philadelphia native, is also a huge Phillies fan.

Drove to the ballpark with a local television guy. Did something with Comcast SportsNet. Called good friend Dana White, president of Ultimate Fighting Championship.

"He's got 63,000 on his Twitter,'' said Victorino. "And then they did a thing on their Facebook page and they've got 400,000 on that.''

Each of those names can vote as many times as they want: once, thrice, 100 times if you're just sitting around doing nothing. Turn it into a party game if you like.

There are three fans in the press box as I write this, casting ballot after ballot for Victorino as part of a radio station promotion, trying to outdo each other. They will do this all night and into the morning, sleeping in the press box. They will be there for a total of 52 hours when voting ends at 4 p.m. tomorrow, almost guaranteeing metacarpal problems later in life.

"What is their reward?'' Victorino asked before last night's game against Cincinnati.

Four tickets and a meet-and-greet with him, he was told.

"That's it?'' he asked.

"They get press club food,'' he was told by a Phillies representative.

There is a bet between the governor of Pennsylvania, Ed Rendell, and the governor of Hawaii, Linda Lingle. If more votes are cast in the islands - where Victorino was born and raised - then Rendell ships off eight cases of cheesesteaks. If Pennsylvania comes through, the Rendells will be eating pineapples into October.

Ballgirls in Hawaiian shirts hit the city streets yesterday too, handing out flyers and Web site instructions.

"Thank you, ballgirls,'' Victorino said when told. Broadcaster Tom McCarthy stood under the midday sun in Center City yesterday, handing out fliers.

"It was fun,'' McCarthy said. "Met a lot of nice people. But I got fried out there.''

The Cira Centre will light up through tomorrow with Shane's number 8.

It all seemed like overkill, until this: As of 5 p.m. yesterday, Victorino trailed San Francisco's Pablo Sandoval by an unannounced margin.

How?

"Pablo's got Venezuela,'' Victorino said. "That's a big country.''

Phillies fans should know that. In 2004, Bobby Abreu was voted in as the final player due to a huge tally from his native nation. The Phillies have learned a thing or two - or eight - from that, and from the campaigns that have followed. So they are e-mailing season ticketholders, posting on Facebook and Twittering too.

Shameless? Probably. But it's what Major League Baseball wants. Regular All-Star balloting is limited to 25 per person, because every one of the major league towns are involved. The unlimited voting opportunity for the final spot assures a gaudy vote total, a chance to claim more interest in the process than there really is. There are five players nominated for the final spot, but with Matt Kemp's Dodgers traveling, and the other two nominees from teams in baseball-indifferent areas (Washington, Arizona), it's really down to this campaign and a country.

Sandoval, only 22 and extremely popular in Venezuela, is the lone player in Victorino's way.

At this point it should be mentioned that Shane is the son of a Maui councilman, Michael Victorino. And he has campaigned before, although not to this extent.

"One year I stood on the side of the road with my dad and held a sign,'' he said.

That was in 2004, when Victorino was still in the minors.

"That time,'' said the centerfielder, "he lost.''

So this time he is campaigning.

Hard.

As are the Phillies.

There were luau girls dancing on the Phillies' dugout after the seventh inning last night. There were constant reminders throughout the game to remember to vote.

"I don't know if I have to do Hawaii tomorrow,'' Victorino said. "Tomorrow morning I have to do something at 7:45, though.

"Hey, whatever it takes, man.'' *

Send e-mail to donnels@phillynews.com.

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