WAILUKU, Maui — The parents of Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Shane Victorino, a graduate of St. Anthony High School on Maui, are packing for the World Series that starts today in New York City and haven't forgotten what they learned from attending last year's Fall Classic.

"The biggest thing is warmer clothes. Be prepared with gloves, be prepared with beanies," said Mike Victorino, 57, a Maui councilman.

"And shoes and socks," chimed in wife Joycelyn, 51, who works at the ILWU Local 142 office in Wailuku.

"We went up kind of nonchalantly last year, thinking we're still in Hawaii, and we found out right away that it's cold," said Mike Victorino.

The World Series will be a family reunion for the Victorino ohana, with about three dozen kin and close friends converging on Phila-delphia from all corners of the country when the competition shifts to that city later this week.

Mike Victorino, who reluctantly admits to being a former Yankees fan, plans to attend all the games and has been monitoring the media build-up to the championship series.

"Nobody is saying the Phillies. Everyone is saying the Yankees in seven, the Yankees in six, the Yankees this, the Yankees that, and you know, they could be right," he said. "I hope Shane guys can prove them wrong, but you know what? I'm just so honored that he has an opportunity that many kids and many big league players never get — appearing in the World Series for a second time.

"When he went last year it was like, 'Whew, unbelievable.' Now this year it's like, 'This is real.' I hope we can win again. I'll leave it to the good Lord and the players on the field, and that's the way it's going to be."

Friends and fans back on Maui will be closely following Shane Victorino's exploits as the Phillies attempt to repeat as Major League Baseball titleholders.

Throughout the regular season, the daily morning assembly at St. Anthony High School includes a recap of Victorino's performance in games the day before, and athletic director Charlie Pico said the television will be on in his office today to watch Game 1 of the World Series.

Pico's son played soccer and football with Victorino, now 28, and Pico was an assistant track coach at St. Anthony when Victorino won the 100-, 200- and 400-meter races at the 1999 state high school track and field championships.

"He was just always an active kid who couldn't keep still. He had a lot of speed," he said. "When he got to high school he didn't have to do much, just show up at the track and beat everybody."

Pico, 51, a St. Anthony alumnus, said he's not much of a baseball fan but watches Phillies games because of Victorino.

"To see where he's at now is unbelievable. You always watch pro sports and you see all these people you don't know," he said. "It's different when you see someone you know.

"Criminy, this guy is on the biggest stage in the world."

'TOTALLY AN HONOR'

The Victorinos went to Denver to watch the Phillies play the Rockies in the National League Division Series, and Joycelyn was at Dodger Stadium for the first two games of the NL Championship Series.

The couple also were present for the season opener when Shane and his teammates received their 2008 World Series rings, and their son flew them up for July's Major League All-Star Game in St. Louis, where another Hawaii high school alumnus, President Obama, tossed the first pitch.

Victorino was the first Hawaii player voted into an All-Star starting lineup by the public.

"To see all the who's who there and have Shane walk among these people was totally an honor," his mother said.

"The Pujolses, the Teixeiras, the Rodriguezes, the Jeters and all the former All-Stars were there. It was a beautiful experience," Mike Victorino said.

Shane passed along some macadamia nuts to Obama that his parents had brought from Maui and presented the commander in chief with specially made baseball shoes adorned with the number 44, representing the 44th president of the United States.

"Shane thinks about everything. That kid is so awesome," Joycelyn said.

During last year's World Series games in Philadelphia, Shane reserved a reception room at the hotel where family and friends were staying and hosted a gathering with food and refreshments after every game.

Mike Victorino said he doesn't talk much baseball with his son when they're together.

"I may have coached him when he was in Little League, but this is a different league altogether," he said, laughing.

"After showering and getting treatments, he comes out and all he wants to do is leave and go back to the hotel and spend time with us and the family. He just loves to be around everyone. This is the time he gets to spend with family and friends beyond the holiday season."

MUCH MEMORABILIA

Victorino spent much of his first five pro seasons in the minor leagues, and as his career took off, so did his parents' collection of news clippings, game tickets, batting helmets, framed photos, baseball cards and other memorabilia. The items are displayed throughout the couple's Wailuku home along with Little League trophies and other long-ago awards marking the athletic and academic achievements of both Shane and his older brother, Michael Jr.

Joycelyn estimated she's spent "thousands of hours" assembling scrapbooks that date back to 1996.

"You should see our kitchen table. We're still on 2008 stuff," her husband said.

The Victorinos also find themselves regularly dealing with visiting Phillies fans and calls to their home and offices asking for souvenirs or a chance to just talk story.

"They want to know why Shane is the way he is. We feel honored and blessed that they ask us," Joycelyn said.

"The greatest reason why he's been successful is his faith in God and his love of family."

Just last weekend, the Victorinos had dinner with a couple from Philadelphia who had ordered photo prints at the Longs Drug Store in Kíhei. A Longs clerk who knows Joycelyn spotted a picture of Shane with an elderly female fan in the batch and put them in touch.

"They told us that their grandmother, who is 96, is a Phillies fan and that Shane is one of her favorite players," Joycelyn said.

"Every year they have what they call Fan Fest when fans can go on the field and meet the players personally. They told us how this lady, when she goes to the field, many of the other players just walk by but Shane looks for her and he says, 'Where's my girlfriend, where's my girlfriend?' and runs over to her and says, 'Where have you been? I've been looking for you.' "

Victorino's caring spirit was acknowledged publicly when he won the 2008 Lou Gehrig Memorial Award for his outstanding commitment to the community and philanthropy. This year, he received the Volunteers of America 2009 Outstanding Community Service Award for his work as a mentor and inspiration to Philadelphia-area youth volunteers through the national Action Team program.

PROUD PARENTS

Even with his accomplishments on and off the playing field, Joycelyn said she is most proud of her son's Eagle Scout award. Victorino participated in Boy Scouts from the time he was in grade school and earned the group's highest honor despite a multitude of athletic distractions, his mother said.

Winning the 2008 World Series was pretty special, but Mike Victorino recalled the pride he felt when his son was selected for the 1999 Nissan Hawaii High School Hall of Honor recognizing the state's top 12 student-athletes.

Regardless of the outcome of the 2009 World Series, Shane Victorino will soon be sporting a new ring on his finger.

Once the championship is over, he will return to Maui to marry his fiancee, Melissa Smith, on Nov. 14. The couple have a 2-year-old daughter, Kalia Makenna.

A week later he'll host the Shane Victorino Celebrity Golf Classic at the Makena Resort benefiting the Hawaii Children's Cancer Foundation. For more information on the charity event, visit www.shanevictorino.com or call Kimberly Crossett at 800-858-1872 or e-mail kim berlyw@bhscouncil.com.