EVERETT – If one wandered near Everett Memorial Stadium this summer, one might have noticed a slightly stronger breeze in the vicinity than in the other parts of town.
That was probably caused by all the fanning going on inside.
There was just one distinctive characteristic to the Everett AquaSox’s 2007 Northwest League season, and that was the team’s ability to strike out at historical levels.
However, the AquaSox managed to battle those strikeouts to something resembling a draw, and Everett was able to finish the season with respectability.
Everett finished 35-41, which placed the Sox third in the West Division, a whopping 22 games behind division champion Salem-Keizer.
But that record looks a lot better when taken in context. Salem-Keizer was so dominant that no other team in the eight-team league finished above .500. Everett was just 212 games behind the second-best team in the league.
“My overall view of the season was it was pretty successful,” Everett broadcaster Pat Dillon said. “What the (parent club Seattle Mariners) do is draft players with tools. Then you throw them in a development level like this, throw them against the wall and see what sticks. There were some guys who turned a corner this year.”
In the process the Sox swung and missed. A lot. Everett set a league record for strikeouts in a season with 791, shattering the previous record of 738 set by the Sox in 1996. That included two games in which Everett was fanned 19 times both games occurring in the same week.
Those strikeouts, a rate of 10.4 per game, were a big reason why Everett went through a massive lull through the middle of the season. The Sox were a dismal 8-21 during the month of July as they suffered through their worst stretch of offensive futility.
“If you set the league record in strikeouts, that’s way too many for a team that doesn’t walk much,” Dillon said. “If you strike out more than any other team, then almost lead the league in walks issued, you’re not going to be a winning team.”
However, Everett pulled things back together late in the season, winning 12 of its final 19 games to pull out of the division cellar.
Everett’s offense basically began and ended with Gregory Halman. The native of the Netherlands, who turned 20 during the season, led the Sox in most offensive categories, including batting average (.307), home runs (16), RBI (37) and stolen bases (16). The center fielder was named a league all-star.
However, Halman also had his run-ins with manager Mike Tosar, twice being benched during the season. And even Halman was struck by the strikeout bug, fanning a team-leading 85 times in 62 games.
“Halman made the all-star team, and there’s still a feeling he could have been so much better,” Dillon said. “He’s a guy who could be headed to the big leagues if he wakes up and realizes he could be better.”
Also showing some offensive promise were second baseman Edilio Colina, who batted .277 as an 18-year-old, and outfielder Kalian Sams, who overcame a horrible early season slump to finish second on the team in homers with seven.
But too many failed to perform up to expectations. Muscular outfielder Joe Dunigan, the Mariners’ fifth-round pick in this year’s draft, struggled making contact and batted just .231 with four homers. Fellow outfielder Jermaine Brock, a sixth-round pick in 2004 who was slated to be Everett’s leadoff man, batted just .230.
Everett’s saving grace was its pitching. Left-hander Edward Paredes, the 20-year-old from the Dominican Republic, led the Sox in most categories, going 7-6 with a 3.99 ERA and 61 strikeouts in a league-leading 85 2/3 innings. He was named to the league’s all-star team.
Also, right-hander Juan Ramirez (3-7, 4.30 ERA, team-leading 73 strikeouts) showed a lot of promise. The native of Nicaragua, who just turned 19 during the season, showed the most stuff of anyone on the staff with a fastball in the mid-90s and a sharp-breaking slider.
Everett also received tremendous support from the back end of its bullpen, particularly through left-hander Nick Hill (0.51 ERA, two saves) and right-handers Bryan Harris (1.16 ERA, eight saves) and Aaron Brown (1.95 ERA, six saves).
Everett’s season may have turned out a bit different had it retained all its best players. Right-hander Nolan Gallagher was the league leader in ERA at 0.84 when he was promoted to Wisconsin of the full-season single-A Midwest League. Third baseman Matt Mangini was batting .291 when he was sent to Peoria, Ariz., to rehabilitate a lower-back injury. Once recovered, he headed to High Desert of the full-season single-A California League instead of returning to Everett.
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