He calls 132 Asheville Tourists games each year, either from his press box at the Asheville Tourists stadium, on the road with the Tourists or from his home in Biltmore Park Town Square. Now in his 13th year as the voice of the Asheville Tourists, Doug Maurer is the director of broadcast and media relations for the team.

Born and raised in Indianapolis, and a huge Indiana University (later his alma mater) basketball fan, Doug says his love of sports formed early. “Back then, Indiana University was one of the best teams. Watching exciting games really shaped me,” he says. Doug was taking it all in as he learned about teamwork, competition, team bonds over a unified goal, being graceful in defeat and sportsmanship. “Sports builds character. Think about it. To be considered an elite baseball player, your batting average needs to be 3 out of 10. That builds character.”

With a love for people, Doug also watched SportsCenter with his dad and knew he wanted to get involved in some sort of sports broadcasting. His tenacity led him to seek a marketing and administrative internship for the minor league baseball team the Princeton Rays of the Appalachian League. “I was able to do a little bit of everything and learn all the roles of minor league baseball,” he says. Along with his classic sports radio voice and gregarious personality, his internship set him up to land the highly competitive role with the Tourists he has today

A risk taker and self-starter, Doug watched his father build the National Bank of Indianapolis from the ground up, and he was heavily influenced by his grandparents, who opened and ran Atlas Supermarket in Indianapolis for 50 years. “I spent a lot of time in their store as a young boy,” Doug says. “My grandpa went out of his way to be nice to people, as did my grandma, and I watched them build up a lot of loyal customers.” Former television host David Letterman was one of their favorite employees. “I learned that if you’re kind to people, willing to go out of your way to help them, you build up trust.”

Doug is always building relationships. He volunteers whenever he can, most recently with the Belgian Waffle Ride, a brutal 131-mile bike ride in Hendersonville with 13,500 feet of climbing.

There are three steps Doug deploys to call a game well. One, paint the picture; describe what you’re seeing in detail. Two, use stats to enhance the listeners’ experience. Three, tell stories using anything the listener doesn’t know. “Usually the game carries the broadcast, but if you’re down, and there’s a blowout, that’s when you go into storytelling mode,” Doug says. “A story can even be two sentences.”

Part of Doug’s magic is always staying in his broadcasting rhythm. To do so, he also calls a ton of events off season. He broadcasts men’s and women’s basketball and football at Mars Hill University, the SoCon championships, and both football and basketball for Christ School and Asheville School. He also emcees local events, including UNC Asheville’s annual Baseball Night and the Walk to End Alzheimer’s. A dedicated Indiana Hoosiers and Butler Bulldogs supporter, he is a loyal fan of his hometown teams, the Indianapolis Colts, the Indiana Pacers, and the Indy Eleven.

Doug infuses his passion and personality into the Tourists and their supporters every season. “Going to Asheville Tourists games is a family-friendly and inexpensive way to create a lot of lasting memories,” Doug says. “I love the excitement of the game, telling stories and rekindling friendships at the ballpark.”

When he isn’t in the press box broadcasting games or facilitating advertising relationships with the Tourists, Doug can be found road biking, watching sports, reading books or taking in all that Biltmore Park has to offer. “I love that you can go to the ballpark every day and always see something new.”