A moment with ... Nick Lachey, Tacoma Rainiers co-owner

By MEGHAN PETERS
P-I REPORTER

With piercing blue eyes, rippling pectorals and swoon-worthy vocals, Nick Lachey was easily welcomed into fame as a lead-vocalist for the late-1990s boy band, 98 degrees. The pop singer's popularity further soared from his 2003-2005 MTV reality series, The Newlyweds, with ex-wife Jessica Simpson.

That was then.

	Lachey

The 33-year-old continues his music career going solo, and has another leading lady -- TV personality Vanessa Minnillo. But his most recent venture has gained the singer recognition on a new field in Tacoma.

Last year Lachey became a part owner of the Tacoma Rainiers. Although he's been too busy recording his new album to travel much to the Pacific Northwest, he visited Cheney Stadium Saturday for a charity softball tournament and to watch the Rainiers take on the Portland Beavers.

How did you get involved with the Tacoma Rainiers?

About two or three years ago, I was involved with a group that was trying to buy the Cincinnati Reds, which is my hometown. And we didn't get the team, but obviously it kind of sparked that interest in me. The Rainiers were up for sale and... it was a good opportunity.

What do you think of Tacoma?

I think Tacoma is on the rise, honestly. Obviously it's a little bit in the shadow of Seattle, but I think Tacoma's redefining itself right now. You see a downtown, new restaurants, new bars and things that are going in.

Did you play sports as a kid?

Yeah, when I was a real little kid. I went to a performing arts high school so we didn't have sports where I went to school, it was more like a singing thing. But, when I was a little leaguer (I played).

Had you always imagined sports would be a part of your future?

Not at all. I mean, I always loved it, always had a passion for it and in college I actually majored in athletic training. But, especially on an ownership level, I never really envisioned that for myself. But, it's been a lot of fun. I'm glad we decided to do it.

Why did you choose to invest in baseball?

Again, I was initially interested in the Reds because that's where I'm from and that's always kind of been my dream on the homeboy level. There's so many opportunities in baseball. Unlike football where you have the NFL and then that's it, in baseball you have major league baseball and then you have the AAA baseball and AA baseball. It's a great opportunity to be involved in baseball even if it's not at the major league level. Really it was the best sport to be a part of, and it's a sport I love.

Why did you choose to invest in a minor league team?

It really comes down to the opportunity. It's not that often that teams come up for sale. And, the one thing I did learn through the Cincinnati Reds experience is that you can get a lot of experience in the minor leagues and learn a lot about ownership and a lot about running a team and that can only help you in the future if you're going to go after a major league team.

Do you expect to get involved with other sports in the future?

I don't have any real plans for that, but you never know. I love the baseball experience and I like the long season and coming out to the park. It's always been part of my favorite summer memories. I'm very happy being a baseball owner as it is and we'll see if it goes anywhere else.

What's in store for the new album and when can fans expect to see it?

The single should come out at the end of this year and the album probably February or March of next year. I feel really good about where it is and I feel really good about the music and the people I've been working with. Hopefully there will be a nice collaboration in there, or two, that I've been working on.

How do you balance your music career with owning a baseball team?

When it comes to running a baseball team, that's something I'm trying to learn more about, it's not something I really claim to be an expert in. (I'm) letting the people who do this for a living and know what they're doing do their jobs and I'll try and try and support them as much as I can from the outside. And, at the same time, do what I know how to do, which is sing. In the future maybe the opportunity will be there to take a more hands-on approach, but right now the best thing to do is let the experienced people do that stuff.

Do you think you'd ever drop music and completely focus on sports?

Sports, I can't imagine it ever not being a passion for me and not being something I love. But you never know where the future's going to go and where you're going to end up.