Chip Caray, longtime play-by-play announcer for the Braves, was hired by the Cardinals organization on Monday to be their new broadcaster on Bally Sports Midwest, where he will replace longtime Cardinals voice Dan McLaughlin, who left his position due to a DUI incident. The voice of the Braves for the past two decades will be taking his talents up north to St. Louis. Braves fans everywhere know who Chip Caray is, and many of us are shocked hearing this news. This Twitter user said it best with his comment, “he was a goof, but he was our goof, damn it…” Let’s dive in & examine Chip’s impact on the Braves organization in terms of both past & future.
Career highlights
Who can forget Chip’s iconic call of Jason Heyward’s first career HR way back in 2010? How about his 2012 call of Freddie Freeman’s walk-off homer to send the team to the playoffs? Braves fans regularly enjoyed his “Wash is going to wave him!” calls at the plate in recent years. My personal Chip Caray favorite is his call of Brian McCann’s walk-off hit against the Phillies back in 2019 which goes like this, “deuces wild for Brian. Here she comes. Little fly ball hit to right towards the gap, that ball is gonna get… DOWN! IT’S DOWN! The Braves have won it!” His 2021 World Series Game 6 postgame intro is perhaps just as legendary as the series victory. His decision to leave after a 15-year tenure as our play-by-play guy represents the end of an era.
End of an era
The Braves had gone 46 years with at least one Caray in the booth during every season. Chip’s father, Skip Caray, called Braves games for 32 years (1976-2008) while the younger Caray overlapped with his dad in the booth for a few seasons (1991-92, 2005-2008) before carrying on his dad’s (& grandfather’s) iconic broadcasting legacy after Skip’s passing in 2008. His grandfather Harry never called Braves games, but he was an iconic broadcaster for the Cubs. The three generations of Carays memorably called one game in the booth together back in 1991. Perhaps one or both of Chip’s 23-year-old sons, Chris & Stefan, take over for him at some point. They both recently graduated from UGA with degrees in broadcasting and they are currently calling games for the Amarillo Sod Poodles (Double-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks). Until then, Braves fans will continue wondering who will help fill the void as his replacement…
Who will replace him?
Per Mark Bowman’s latest tweet there are three candidates who have emerged for the role: ESPN PBP Tom Hart, Braves radio host Ben Ingram, & former Marlins voice Rich Waltz. Out of those three, my personal favorite is Ben Ingram as he’s been incredible on Braves radio. He’s also the fan’s favorite, at least from what I can tell by reading several tweets like this one. Ingram’s call of our World Series championship win is iconic, “chopper, out to Dansby. Dansby throws to first base. Is this really happening? It is! The Atlanta Braves are World Champions!” My favorite call of Ben’s is his description of the series sweep over the Mets, “pitch on the way. Fly ball to right field. Acuna going back, Acuna is there. He’s got it! And the Braves have swept the Mets. And dealt them a devastating defeat. You come at the kings [and] you better not miss!” Tom Hart also brings a wealth of experience in calling over 1,200 pro baseball games for ESPN. I’m less bullish on Rich Waltz as a candidate after his 2022 stint with the Angels was short-lived. You can choose whether or not to love or hate Chip Caray, but it’s clear that his family legacy, decades of experience in the booth, & flair for the team’s most dramatic moments will be missed.
The Sports Beacon 