For most it appeared to be a rather innocuous shot. Travis Howell’s eighth-inning home run Friday night just increased Everett’s lead over Tri-City from 4-1 to 6-1, and it played no role in the game’s outcome.
But for one member of the AquaSox front office it was a hair-razing experience.
Because of a pregame agreement, Howell’s homer meant Sox general manager Brian Sloan had to get his hair buzzed. So during an on-field ceremony just prior to the start of Saturday’s game, Sloan had his hair clippered away.
“I needed a haircut anyway,” said Sloan, who was left with just the barest covering on his head.
The agreement stemmed from Friday night’s Buhner Buzz Night at Everett Memorial Stadium. Former Seattle Mariners star and minority AquaSox owner Jay Buhner was in attendance, assisting in the trademark shaving of fans’ heads. Howell was one of a handful of players who decided to join in the fun and have his head shaved, and he wondered why Sloan wasn’t also taking part.
“He looked at me and said, ‘Hey, you didn’t get your head shaved,’” Sloan explained. “I said, ‘No, I just didn’t have time to do it.’ He was like, ‘Well, how about this? I hit a home run tonight and you shave your head.’
“So I said, ‘How many home runs have you hit this year?’ and he said, ‘None.’ So I was like, ‘All right, fine, no problem.’”
Said Howell: “It was just kind of joke before the game. We were just talking about when am I ever going to get my home run, I haven’t hit one in a couple seasons.”
It seemed a solid bet for Sloan. Howell hadn’t homered in 113 at bats for the Sox, and in his first four plate appearances Friday he struck out twice, grounded out and walked.
It looked as though Sloan was safe when, in Everett’s final at-bat in the bottom of the eighth, Howell seemed destined not to come to the plate. However, Manelik Pimentel fought back to draw a two-out walk, giving Howell one last shot. Howell then lined the ball the opposite way, and it had just enough carry on it to drop into the homer porch in right for his first professional homer.
For Howell the agreement got lost in the shuffle.
“After my first couple at-bats I really just forgot about it,” Howell said. “I just needed to salvage the day, try and get at least one hit.”
But it wasn’t lost by Sloan, who just moments earlier had declared himself safe to public address announcer Tom Lafferty.
“I jinxed it big time,” Sloan said. “But the players all got a kick out of it and it’s good for Travis. He’ll remember his first professional home run by something fun like this.”
Walking man: Tyson Gillies made a small part of Sox history Friday. The Everett outfielder drew four walks in Friday’s game. According to research done by Sox broadcaster Pat Dillon, it was the first time in AquaSox history that player walked four times in a nine-inning game.
Superstitious CD: If one happened to wander past Everett Memorial Stadium at around 4 p.m. the past few days, one would have been greeted by the sounds of latin beats playing over the sound system. That’s because Sox manager Jose Moreno insisted on playing the same CD, featuring Spanish-language music, during batting practice as has been used throughout Everett’s five-game winning streak.
Nick Patterson, Herald Writer
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