Sports

<< Previous   of   Next >> Michael O'Leary/The Herald  (click to enlarge) Tom Lafferty, who is the AquaSox public address announcer and a KRKO radio personality, was recently honored by the Northwest League with the Joe Martin Award. As former owner Mark Sperandio says, "Tom has the perfect voice, he's consistent, he's professional. In the 50 ballparks I've been to, I've not heard anyone on the same level with him."   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Report scores and results to 425-339-3470 or 1-866-6-SCORES (Call after 4:30 p.m.) E-mail information including items for Tuesday's Communities Sports Roundup and Thursday's Outdoor Calendar, to sports@heraldnet.com Kevin Brown, Sports Editor kbrown@heraldnet.com   Published: Monday, November 10, 2008 Recognizing the AquaSox's 'face of the franchise' The Northwest League recently awarded Tom Lafferty, the AquaSox's P.A. announcer/DJ/ringmaster, with the Joe Martin Award for his 25 seasons of dedication and service. But for Tall Tom it's all about entertaining the crowd. By Larry henry Special for The Herald It was a pretty bold remark. But then, sometimes that's what it takes to get what you want. And Tom Lafferty wanted a job with the new minor league baseball team in town. So one day in the early 1980s, he marches into the office of the team's owner and blurts out, "I'm going to be your P.A. announcer." To which Bob Bavasi, up to his eyeballs with stuff to do and not enough time to do it all, responded in frenzied fashion, "OK, great, now get outta here." It was the beginning of a beautiful relationship. "Hiring Tom was the best thing that happened to the ballclub -- ever," said Margaret Bavasi, Bob's wife and co-owner of the Everett ballclub, which took up residence here in 1984 and last summer celebrated its 25th season in the Northwest League. During that time, there have been some big changes in the franchise. The ballclub, then called the Giants, is now the AquaSox, the ballpark has undergone some major improvements, and the Bavasi's are no longer the owners. One thing that hasn't changed, though, is the public address announcer. Or, as former team owner Mark Sperandio referred to him, "the face of the franchise." That's exactly what Tom Lafferty is. He's the one constant that fans can relate to after all these years. A very valuable and reassuring constant. And way overdue is an honor that has been bestowed on him. He's been named winner of the Joe Martin Award, which is given to someone each year for "exceptional dedication and service" to Northwest League baseball. AquaSox fans might not know his face, but they certainly know his voice. He's the guy who sets the mood for the entire evening, regardless of what happens on the field. How could you not feel a certain lightness of spirit after a bad day at the office when he intones, "Welcome to Everett Memorial Stadium where every day is Mardi Gras and every fan is king"? He plays music -- oldies but goodies, rock 'n roll, country and western. He tosses out funny one-liners that parents don't have to worry about their kids hearing. He keeps the between-inning activities on the field moving along like a ringmaster in a circus, providing lively commentary as the action unfolds. He acknowledges prominent guests in the audience "and don't think that doesn't go a long way" in making friends for the ballclub, Bob Bavasi said. And, if you're keeping score, he lets you know who's up, who's on deck, who the new pitcher is and what the sorry result of the Mariner game is, without editorializing. What would an AquaSox game be without this 51-year-old native of Snohomish? It'd be like a birthday party without cake and ice cream. Listen to Bob Bavasi. After he sold the AquaSox to Sperandio, Bavasi bought another ballclub in Marysville, Calif., kind of a semipro team like the Everett Merchants. "I've had some real nice (P.A.) announcers, all good guys and competent, but they're no Tall Tom," Bavasi said. "You really notice it when you don't have him." Bavasi wasn't into baseball as much as he was into entertainment. He wanted you to have a good time at the ballpark, and baseball at the rookie-league level often can be excruciating. So you have to have something else to make the fans feel good. "We looked at it as kind of like dinner-theater," he said, "and Tom really made that come true for us. He played great music and he was glib without being a smart aleck. So many guys in the minor leagues want to be the show. Tom helped the show along. He knew what Margaret and I were trying to do." Sperandio came to the same conclusion as Bavasi. After visiting more than 50 minor league teams in the past 10 years, he said of Lafferty, "you don't realize how good he is until you go to another ballpark. It's striking. "Tom has the perfect voice, he's consistent, he's professional. In the 50 ballparks I've been to, I've not heard anyone on the same level with him." The thing about Lafferty is, he juggles a half-dozen balls at once. When visiting play-by-play announcers come to Everett, they can't believe that Lafferty does everything he does by himself. They say it takes two or three people to do his job(s) at their ballpark. Lafferty tries to offer a variety of music because his audience ranges from the very young to the very old (he has more than 100 CDs with 10,000 songs), but no matter what he chooses, someone is not going to like what he plays. One night an elderly gent complained about how loud the music was. So Lafferty put on Glenn Miller's "In the Mood" at the same volume. "He didn't look up," Lafferty said with a grin. "He tapped his foot. It wasn't the volume. It was the music." In the end, with whatever he does, Lafferty tries to create a "family kind of feeling. I have to appeal to a broad variety of people. Who counts are the people paying to be in the ballpark." In a small ballpark like Everett Memorial, it's hard to sneak in unrecognized if you're a celebrity, say a Jay Buhner or an Edgar Martinez. And if you're a television star? Forget it. A number of years ago, a limousine pulled up at the north gate. The gatekeeper got on the walkie-talkie to alert Bob Bavasi that someone of note had arrived. Bavasi rushed out to discover that the mystery guest was John Ratzenberger, who played Cliff Clavin on "Cheers." Bavasi escorted the actor into the ballpark and found him a prime seat behind homeplate. Ratzenberger's entrance didn't go unnoticed because Bavasi had taken him over to meet the mayor of Everett, Bill Moore. Bavasi recalled that the fans were courteous, allowing Ratzenberger the freedom to sit and enjoy the game without hounding him for autographs. Lafferty, too, was respectful, in a very subtle way. At the end of the inning, he played the theme from "Cheers," then said "isn't it great to come to a place where everybody knows your name," which, of course, was the line that described the Boston bar featured in the series. Classic Lafferty. His name fits his character. He likes to "laff." He has a lot to laugh about. Lafferty has a great gig. Besides his job with the AquaSox, which runs from mid-June until the first of September, he's the longtime play-by-play voice of Snohomish County high school sports on Everett radio station KRKO, calling football and basketball games. Ask him which sport he enjoys the most, football or basketball, and he replies, "yes." Then expands. "Football's once a week, basketball's shorter and warmer." The consummate professional, Lafferty -- who is also the station's sports director -- spends 12 to 14 hours a week preparing for a football game. If Webster's Dictionary were to humanize the word organized, it would have a picture of Lafferty next to it. "Did he show you his calendar?" Bavasi asked. "He can tell you which clothes he's going to wear three weeks from now. Not only is it written down, it's color coded. I've never known anyone so organized." On Jeff Aaron's afternoon sports talk show on KRKO, Lafferty is to Aaron what Ed McMahon used to be to Johnny Carson, kind of a "steadying influence," as Lafferty put it. The other day, as Lafferty visited in the outer office, a co-worker asked him if he was on the Aaron show that day. "Yes," Lafferty said. "Why?" "You have two minutes until air time," she said. "No," he mildly corrected her. "Three and a half." Talk about organized. Do not get the idea that Lafferty's life revolves entirely around sports. Music is a large part of his makeup. For 20 years, he worked as a volunteer assistant with the marching band at his alma mater, Snohomish High School, where, as a student, he didn't play sports, but "went to every single game." And for the past 28 years, he has been the choir director at Snohomish United Methodist Church. He's also the technical director for a variety show put on each year by the Snohomish Historical Society. It's a good life the man has. He never pursued a radio gig anywhere else. "I suppose I could have been a play-by-play guy at Waterbucket State," he said. "But I like living here." Some guys go out and party on Friday nights in the fall. "We go out," Lafferty said, "and do football." READER COMMENTS Log in or register to post new comment | Log out Kudos to Tall Tom I spent a few years working for the Aquasox, and have also spent many evenings as a customer watching the games. Tom Lafferty is the consummate professional and a super nice guy. Snohomish County is fortunate to have had him be a part of our community for so long. I have often thought he could have been a network commentator, but I guess he would have made most of the color commentators appear a little small in comparison. I hope that Tom sticks around for a long time to come. The award is much deserved. Dave J | Nov 10, 2008 4:22 pm | 1 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal

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