ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, April 4, 1996 TAG: 9604040030
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: ON THE AIR
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK
You might say Mark Aucutt is enthused about his new job. He doesn't have to say it. He already proved that.
Aucutt and his girlfriend, Debbi, drove a rented truck, towing his car, exactly 3,006 miles from Seattle to the Roanoke Valley. They stayed overnight only in Cheyenne, Wyo. They arrived about 6 o'clock one March dawn. There wasn't any question where they would head first.
They finally stopped in the parking lot at Salem Memorial Baseball Stadium.
``I remembered where the old park was,'' Aucutt said, referring to Municipal - now Kiwanis - Field. ``I knew the new park wasn't far. Then, we saw the light towers. It was a beautiful sight.''
It is a return to the Carolina League for Aucutt, who makes his debut as the Salem play-by-play voice Friday night when the Avalanche opens at Prince William (7:30, WROV 1240 AM). It's also a long way from home.
Aucutt (pronounced AWE-cut) is a Seattle native who spent the past four baseball seasons near home, calling games in Everett, Wash., in the short-season Northwest League. ``I wanted to get back to working a full [140-game] season,'' Aucutt said when asked about the move. ``I like the challenge of that, and I decided it was time to see about moving up the ladder.''
In Everett, Aucutt was known for his listener-friendly voice, his interaction with fans and his occasional overnight stays in the press box rather than making a 40-mile drive to his home near the Seattle-Tacoma airport. The radio booth at Memorial Stadium is plenty roomy, but Aucutt does have a Roanoke apartment.
He's the seventh Salem baseball voice in the club's 10 broadcast seasons. Last year's Avalanche play-by-play man, Mark Neely, moved up to Tulsa of the Class AA Texas League. It's a very competitive field, and the Salem club received more than 100 resumes and audio tapes for the vacancy.
Aucutt also was offered Class A jobs in the California and Florida State leagues, and was told he was among the finalists for the Class AA job in Binghamton, N.Y., after he already had accepted Salem's offer. His opportunity with the Avalanche was strengthened by a recommendation from North Johnson, for whom Aucutt worked with the Kinston Indians in 1988-89.
``He offers us a lot of experience,'' said Dave Oster, Avalanche general manager. ``We were very impressed with Mark's tapes, and the fact he's been in baseball and been successful was important, too. He has a lot of good ideas, and he's very professional.''
Aucutt, 36 and a Washington State alumnus, left Kinston and went to work in banking in Seattle. After a couple of years, he missed the game. ``Baseball always has been No.1 with me,'' he said, ``but I like to do other sports, too.''
He has. As sports director of the AquaSox's flagship station, KRKO, Aucutt also called high school football and basketball, pro soccer and a NASCAR stop at Evergreen Speedway. He was host of a weekly radio sports talk show, something the Roanoke Valley certainly could use. He also was the Sox's media relations director, a role he will keep with the Avalanche.
Listeners will notice Aucutt's signature call - although if the wind blows in at Memorial Stadium as it did for the opening three weeks last summer, perhaps not. He punctuates his home run call with an emphatic, ``Yes, indeed!'' That's unless it's a grand slam. Then, in addition to the other two words, Aucutt adds, ``Hello, mercy!''
Aucutt has seen some of this season's Avalanche players before, at Colorado Rockies' farm stops in the Northwest League. He also said that while he knows the Carolina League, he is enthused about working in the new parks that have sprouted in league cities, like Memorial Stadium. Since he worked in Kinston, Salem, Durham and Frederick have new parks and the Peninsula franchise has been moved to Wilmington, Del.
In one regard, he isn't any different from those players whose exploits he will be describing.
``I'd like to move up the ladder,'' Aucutt said. ``It was time for me to make a commitment. I'm looking forward to the season. With the new park and the enthusiasm about the club, it's a very good situation.''
LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: staff.by CNB