The summer evening sun casts a warm glow over the players at Brent Brown Ballpark. Orem Owlz second baseman Darwin Perez steps up to bat. His shadow stretches almost all the way to the pitcher's mound. The small stadium is quiet for the brief moment before the ball meets Perez's bat with a resounding crack. As the ball sails quietly toward the outfield and Perez sprints to first base, the ballpark is filled with the unmistakable, deafeningly loud voice of Jim Maland and his signature celebration cry of "Hooooot! Hooooot!"

"I am the unofficial voice of Hootz the Owl. I guess I am like an extra mascot for the team," Maland said. In fact, this year the team gave him his season tickets for free as a token of the its appreciation for his support. They give him parking passes and let him into the games hours before the gates open.

A lifelong resident of Provo, 61-year old Maland takes great pride in the fact that his only time away from home was the two years he was on his LDS mission in Louisiana. He was a dedicated employee of the city of Provo until he was bit on the crown of his head by a black widow spider while working for the city's waste-water treatment plant. The bite affected his nervous system and forced Maland to retire early, but it provided him with the time needed be the Owlz's unofficial mascot.

Maland's booming voice can be heard over the cheers, the announcer and the music -- even in the far corners of the park.

"I thought it was quiet," Maland said. "I didn't know it was loud. I guess I have got a big mouth, so it just comes out, and underneath the awning the echoing makes it even louder."

The hoots are as frequent as they are loud. Almost every play is cause for a robust double hoot -- when the Owlz hit the ball, when a player gains a base, when a player catches a ball and gets an out and when the Owlz's pitcher throws a strike.

"It is funny listening on the radio and you hear it every pitch just as loud as you hear it at the game," says Mike Clark, a local fan who frequents the games. "I'll be honest, it annoys me. It is very annoying."

Maland acknowledges that some people are annoyed by his incessant hooting. But he is certain that those who appreciate his fanaticism outweigh those who hate it.

On several occasions people have even approached him and asked him to stop or at least quiet down a bit. Maland simply referred the naysayers to the management agreeing that if the team asked him to stop he gladly would.

Unfortunately for those who like to enjoy their baseball in peace and quiet, Owlz management considers Maland one of the team's greatest promotional assets.

"I love the fact that we have something unique and something that people expect when they come to the ballpark," said Owlz general manager Aaron Wells. "He has become sort of a fan favorite. He is as [much a] part of the ballpark as the things we serve at the concession stands. He is what people expect. When he hoots you'll hear the fans hooting after him, he kind of leads the crowd in cheers. He is without question the first and foremost staple of our crowd and our event here."