(April 5, 2011) The Joliet Slammers are partnering with 1340-WJOL to bring fans every game over the air and on the web for the 2011 season.
STAA client Mark Vasko, a long-time Chicago sportscaster, will team up with Slammers President and former Texas Lutheran baseball player Bill Waliewski to call the action.
“I’m excited about getting the chance to come back to Joliet,” Vasko said. “I love what the Slammers have done so far, bringing back so many local names, and I feel like we’re in for a special year.”
Vasko spent four years working as a broadcaster for the Joliet Jackhammers. He brings a total of 12 years of professional baseball play-by-play experience to the table. Vasko also spent time broadcasting for the Kane County Cougars and has experience in the Frontier League with the Cook County Cheetahs (now known as the Windy City Thunderbolts).
Vasko has also excelled as a sports talk show host during his career. Most recently, he hosted a national show on the Sporting News Radio Network. His reporting is well known to Chicago fans as he’s handled the scoreboard updates for Boers and Bernstein on the “Score.” Vasko’s earlier experience as a beat reporter gave him the chance to cover the Chicago Cubs and the 1998 home run chase for WBBM. The Southern Illinois University-Carbondale graduate has been covering sports in the Chicago area since 1985. He currently does play by play for a variety of sports at Lewis and Benedictine University.