EVERETT — Greg Halman, the Seattle Mariners outfielder who was stabbed to death Monday in his native Netherlands, spent two seasons playing for the Everett AquaSox.
“I’m shocked,” AquaSox broadcaster Pat Dillon said. “It’s hard to believe.”
Halman, 24, was found stabbed to death in his home in Rotterdam. He appeared in 35 games for the Mariners this past season.
“When I saw that this morning, it literally stopped me in my tracks,” longtime AquaSox trainer Spyder Webb said from his home in Florence, S.C. “It just brings back again that none of us are guaranteed anything and to appreciate being here.”
Halman spent the 2006 and 2007 seasons playing for the AquaSox, who are a Class A minor-league affiliate of the Mariners. In 2006 as an 18-year-old he batted .259 with five home runs and 15 RBI before seeing his season come to a premature end because of a broken hand. In 2007 he was one of the Northwest League’s league’s premier players, batting .307 with 16 homers, 37 RBI and 16 stolen bases.
“He was one of the most talented players we’ve ever had,” Dillon said. “He could do anything he wanted to do on the field: steal bases, hit for power, play the outfield. Being a young guy when he was in this league, and given the impact he had, you knew he could go as far as he wanted to go and get to the big leagues.”
Webb remembered Halman as a player who matured during his two seasons with the Sox.
“Greg Halman was a very focused and determined kid,” Webb said. “Because of that, his first time through he and I had some battles because he wanted to do things his way and not our way.
“His second time through he was a much more mature kid,” Webb continued. “He started to figure out folks here were trying to help him become a better baseball player and a good person. We still had conflict now and then, but at the end of the season he came into my office and said, ‘Spyder, I appreciate everything you’ve done for me and for trying to help, and I really appreciate it.’ I was shocked. I thought to myself he’d really grown up.”
Halman’s brother, who was not named by Rotterdam Police, was arrested as a suspect in the stabbing.
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