Voice of AquaSox batting near 1,000

Sometime next season, Pat Dillon will call his 1,000th Northwest League baseball game.

Over that time, Dillon has seen hundreds of prospects come and go, but one stands out in his mind.

It's Felix Hernandez, who was 17 and a rookie from Valencia, Venezuela, when he pitched his rookie season for the Everett AquaSox in 2003.

"He's, bar none, the best pitcher I've seen in this league," Dillon said. "He had command and more than a strikeout an inning. You could see just how good he was going to be."

Now, just three years later, Hernandez is a starting pitcher down the road at Safeco Field.

Dillon has broadcast Northwest League games since 1995, and for the past nine seasons, he's been calling games for the AquaSox. The league has a compact schedule, with 76 games in 11 ½ weeks.

"It gets hectic and busy with all the travel, setting up all the gear and then breaking it all down, but it's a labor of love," Dillon said. "There's no way you would do it if you didn't love it."

Dillon works for the AquaSox full time. His offseason duties include working with team General Manager Brian Sloan to line up sponsors for radio broadcasts and to arrange on-the-field promotions.

"We start up as soon as the season is over," Dillon said, "and finish up just about the time the next season begins."

The Seattle Mariners organization believes in advancing players rapidly through the minor leagues. At times, that has hurt the AquaSox's performance on the field.

This year's Everett team started 8-2 but fell under .500 after several key players moved up the ladder.

"We've had some good teams here and some that are not so good," Dillon said. "All these players are young and need to prove something to get to the next level, so all the games are important."

Only about 5 percent of the players will advance from the Northwest League all the way to the majors, and part of the enjoyment for Dillon is figuring out which ones will make it.

He said this year's top AquaSox prospects include catcher Adam Moore and outfielder Kuo Hui Lo, who each played 16 games in Everett before moving up, and pitchers Toby Butler and Chris Tillman.

"You just never really know," Dillon said. "Some guys have all the tools and just never get there, and others find a way to make it through the system."

(Through Monday)