The Everett AquaSox are a Minor League Baseball team in Everett, Washington. The team is a member of the Northwest League and is the High-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. The AquaSox play their home games at Funko Field, which has a seating capacity of 3,682. Everett has won three division titles and two Northwest League championships.

History

Following the 1983 season, Bob and Margaret Bavasi purchased the struggling Walla Walla, Washington, based Blue Mountain Bears. Antiquated facilities compounded by dwindling attendance in Walla Walla prompted the new owners to move the franchise. The Bavasis, who had secured affiliation with the San Francisco Giants, ultimately selected Everett as the relocation destination. Playing as the Everett Giants, the club was affiliated with San Francisco for 11 years until 1994.

On September 12, 1994, Everett signed a player development contract with the Seattle Mariners as their Class A Short Season affiliate to replace San Francisco. They adopted their current name, the AquaSox, prior to the 1995 season. Since 2021, the team has played at the High-A classification as a Mariners affiliate, initially in the High-A West. In March 2022, the High-A West was rebranded back to the Northwest League, as MLB moved to revert all of its Minor Leagues to their historical names.

Stadium

Due to the Northwest League's reclassification in 2021 as a High-A league, which included an expanded schedule and new venue requirements, the AquaSox began exploring a replacement for Funko Field. In September 2022, the City of Everett and Snohomish County approved funds to study a new stadium, which is estimated to cost $80 million and seat 3,500 spectators. A site adjacent to Angel of the Winds Arena in downtown Everett was selected for the study; other proposed sites included the Everett Mall, Kasch Park, and a city-owned lot near Interstate 5.

On December 18, 2024, the Everett City Council voted to select the downtown Everett site for a new baseball stadium that meets the updated MLB standards and could host a United Soccer League team. The site is between Pacific and Hewitt avenues on the east side of Broadway. The stadium is estimated to cost a minimum of $102 million, of which the AquaSox would pay $10 million. The study identified up to $95 million in public funding sources, including state grants and municipal bonds. The stadium's design is scheduled to be completed in 2025 or 2026, with plans to open in time for the 2027 Northwest League season. The estimated cost of the stadium rose to $120 million by the end of January 2026, though the city had not yet given its final approval for the project.

Identity

The AquaSox name was announced in November 1994 after the team had signed an affiliation agreement with the Mariners. They had declined to use the Mariners to create an independent identity. The AquaSox combined imagery of local waterways inhabited by frogs as well as the traditional baseball name "Sox" used by several professional franchises. One of the team logos, used on road caps and jerseys, is based on the trident logo used by the Mariners from 1981 to 1986, rotated to look like the letter "E" for Everett, instead of "M" for Mariners. This logo was introduced in 2010 alongside a secondary logo with two socks. AquaSox is also a term used to describe Water Socks, a type of flexible Water Shoe.

The team's primary mascot is Webbly, a frog. According to team radio broadcaster Pat Dillon, "The frog is a cross between a Pacific tree frog and a Central American red-eyed tree frog—and Brooks Robinson." Secondary mascots include a giant hot dog named Frank N. Furter, who had been a mascot for the Everett Giants, and Pop Fly, a puppet in a moving puppet house.

Season-by-season record Northwest League (1995–present) SeasonPDCDivisionFinishWinsLossesWin%PostseasonManagerAttendance Everett AquaSox 1995SEANorth2nd3739.487Orlando Gómez 89,9501996SEANorth4th3342.440 Roger Hansen 87,8461997SEANorth3rd2947.382 Orlando Gómez 79,9181998SEANorth3rd3442.447 Terry Pollreisz 119,3961999SEANorth3rd4135.540 Terry Pollreisz 103,4552000SEAEast4th3739.487 Terry Pollreisz 114,0242001SEAWest3rd3639.480 Terry Pollreisz 114,7272002SEAWest1st4432.579Lost to Boise in championship series 0–3 Roger Hansen 110,3732003SEAWest4th3244.421 Pedro Grifol 110,0432004SEAWest2nd4135.539 Pedro Grifol 104,0102005SEAWest3rd4234.553 Pedro Grifol 108,8842006SEAWest4th3145.408 Dave Myers 106,6752007SEAWest3rd3541.461 Mike Tosar 106,6832008SEAWest4th3244.421 Jose Moreno 95,2942009SEAWest2nd3937.513 John Tamargo 89,9292010SEAWest1st4827.640Defeated Vancouver in division series 2–1Defeated Spokane in championship series 2–1 Jose Moreno 89,9292011SEAWest3rd 3739.487 Scott Steinmann 96,3452012SEAWest3rd4630.605Lost to Vancouver in division series 0–2 Rob Mummau 95,9292013SEANorth1st4432.579Lost to Vancouver in division series 0–2 Rob Mammau 92,4892014SEANorth4th2848.368 Dave Valle 92,6422015SEANorth1st4234.553Lost to Tri-City in division series 0–2 Rob Mammau 100,6132016SEANorth1st4531.592Defeated Spokane in division series 2–0Lost to Eugene in championship series 1–2 Rob Mammau 104,1622017SEANorth4th3640.474 Jose Moreno 110,1612018SEANorth2nd3838.500Lost to Spokane in division series 1–2 Jose Moreno 111,5992019SEANorth3rd3739.487Louis Boyd116,6302020SEA Season canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic2021SEA3rd6156.521Louis Boyd102,4232022SEA5th5972.450Eric Farris128,8362023SEA2nd7458.561Lost to Vancouver in championship series 1–3Ryan Scott140,9372024SEA4th6468.485Ryan Scott135,6952025SEA5th6072.455Defeated Eugene in championship series 3–1Zach Vincej147,0512026SEARyan Scott

Division winner League champions

Roster

Retired numbers The AquaSox have retired four uniform numbers, including one former AquaSox player, one long-time uniformed staff member, one player whose number was retired by the Mariners organization, and one player retired by all affiliated baseball teams. The team does not state criteria for retiring its numbers.

Greg Halman's no. 26 was retired by the AquaSox on June 23, 2012. He played for the AquaSox in 2005 and 2006 and was named the Short-Season A Player of the Year in 2006. He was killed by his brother in November 2011, shortly after his second season in the major leagues. Ken Griffey Jr.'s no. 24 was retired by the Mariners in January 2016, shortly after he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Jackie Robinson's no. 42 was retired throughout MLB on April 15, 1997, the 50th anniversary of him breaking MLB's racially exclusionist color line. The number 35 was retired in honor of athletic trainer Marion "Spyder" Webb, who worked for the Mariners organization for 35 years, including for the AquaSox since their inception in 1995, until retiring in 2013.

Notes

References

External links