FORT MYERS, Fla.-- Boston Red Sox outfielder Shane Victorino is a fighter, first and foremost. Feisty and proud.
He divides his world into those who have his back -- such as his manager, John Farrell, who declared at the outset of camp that a healthy Victorino would be his Opening Day right fielder -- and those who have expressed doubts that he is the best man for the job, especially when there is Rusney Castillo on the premises.
"Quick to forget, huh?" he said when approached by a visitor he believed to be a public lobbyist for Castillo. "That's OK. I like people like you. Makes me get better. Motivation."
Shane Victorino is old-school. He believes effort deserves to be rewarded, that loyalty counts, that the statistic has yet to be invented that measures the magnitude of a man's will.
"I think how quick the short-term memory people have in regards to what has happened, you know what I mean?" he said.
"I'm six [actually, eight] months removed from back surgery [on Aug. 5]. I had 30 games last year. In those 30 games, I was scuffling [physically]. I have to tell myself, 'Shane, you've been away from the game a little bit. It's not going to come back that easy, it's not going to come back that quick.' But I'm working hard, working my ass off to get back. Then to hear the things that are being said or written?
"It was less than a year and a half ago [in Game 6 of the 2013 World Series] when I stood on third base after that double off the wall and I punched my chest, and the whole place was screaming, and there wasn't one person anywhere in that whole city who was saying something, this and this. Are you going to kick a guy when he's down, when he's coming back from injury? People think I should roll out like I haven't missed a game?"
Victorino, who has been in pro ball since he was 18 years old in 1999 and in Great Falls, Montana, is a realist. He grows furious with those who want to judge him on a handful of spring training at-bats.
"The biggest focus for me has been to be healthy, to show that I can progressively go in the right direction," he said. "I don't care if I hit .500 in spring training or a buck eighty or no hits. At the end of the day, if I'm healthy I feel like I should be the guy. Because I'm more into the fact of what I [have done]. Am I going off the past? Of course. We understand that. I also have been in this game long enough, I've seen guys do this, this and this in spring training and come April, they go out there and can't do what they were doing."
But Victorino also has no illusions that if he falters when the games count, if his body betrays him and the results don't come, the Red Sox have options. One of whom, Castillo, they signed to a six-year, $72.5 million deal within days of Victorino having back surgery.
"I understand the situation," he said. "I understand Mookie [Betts] has come onto the scene. I understand Rusney has signed this big deal. I understand Hanley came here. Hey, I get it. I understand where I'm at, I understand where things are. I understand that some of the things people are saying are warranted. I get it. I use it as motivation.
"I understand if I don't go out there and start doing some of the things that show glimpses of 2013, am I going to say someone else does not warrant [the job]? No. But I'm just glad I'm getting the chance to come back into camp, be healthy."
Victorino insists he is healthy, which is why he expressed his appreciation for Farrell standing by him.
"From Day 1, John has had my back, and as a player you appreciate that," he said. "You respect the fact the manager says, 'If he's healthy, he's my guy, no matter what the situation is, what guys do.' I respect that."
But Victorino also acknowledges that after working out ceaselessly in the offseason, he didn't anticipate some of the issues that have arisen in camp. This winter, he had reverted back to switch-hitting, which he had given up in August 2013 because of physical limitations presented by his back and hamstrings. During camp, he switched back to hitting exclusively from the right side again, because of the soreness he was feeling again on the left side.
Maybe if he'd had 10 weeks to prepare for the season instead of six, he said, he might have tried to push through it a little longer.
"It definitely surprised me and I don't know if I gave up a little too early," he said. "But I have six weeks to be the best player I can be to be ready Opening Day, so that's why the decision came a little faster."
He also said there was some question he might not be ready by the opener, and that he would begin the season on the disabled list, in extended spring training.
"People brought that up," he said. "It was an option. I thought about it."
There were times, he said, that the progress seemed slow in coming. "Trust me, I'm saying, 'Oh my God, I'm embarrassing myself at the plate.' Then I reminded myself it's only been 30 at-bats."
In moments like that, Victorino drew upon the memory of how he felt to be reduced to the role of a spectator, just months after riding a duck boat down Boylston Street. He reminded himself of the goal he had set after undergoing the surgery.
"I sat there in the offseason, champing at the bit, thinking, 'C'mon baby, hold up and do what you gotta do to be ready to go. You've got a lot to show.'"
Maybe Victorino hasn't shown much this spring, to the skeptics in the press box, the scouts filing their reports, and the fans watching at home. Yes, the gifted Castillo has looked to be the more dynamic player in camp, but Victorino has shown enough to satisfy Farrell and GM Ben Cherington, and vows there is more to come.
"I'm just getting back into the rhythm of the game," he said. "This might not come till May or June, I don't know. I hope it comes April 6."
That's the date he circled not long after getting off the operating table.
"There was a date on that calendar I was going to be ready, to the best of my ability," he said, "to be the best player I can be."