After a month-long search, longtime Atlanta Braves play-by-play TV broadcaster Chip Caray is leaving his position at Bally Sports South and will join the Bally Sports Midwest broadcast team as the lead play-by-play announcer for the St. Louis Cardinals , multiple industry sources told The Athletic on Monday. Here’s what you need to know:
- Caray, grandson of legendary former Cardinals broadcaster Harry Caray, will replace Dan McLaughlin, who should begin his 25th season as the Cardinals’ lead television voice this season.
- McLaughlin was arrested in early December on suspicion of drunk driving. He was eventually charged with a felony DWI felony.
- McLaughlin elected to leave his position at Bally Sports Midwest as part of a “mutual decision” later in the month.
- Caray will be working with Brad Thompson and Jim Edmonds, who will alternate between the analyst role and presenting at the studio. Thompson will be the senior analyst for most of the shows in 2023, and sideline reporters Jim Hayes and Alexa Datt will also return to the show.
backstory
Caray is leaving the Braves position entirely after his election, a source said, adding that the pull of going “home” to St. Louis was strong. He was raised in St. Louis and Chip’s parents were divorced. He told The Athletic he rarely saw his father, legendary broadcaster Skip Caray, after he went to Atlanta in 1976 to work as the Braves broadcaster.
The Athletic’s instant analysis:
Why the Cardinals left Caray
There have been a few changes within the Cardinals broadcast team in recent seasons, the most notable being the retirement of Mike Shannon in 2021 after 50 seasons as the team’s radio station. But by December, both Bally Sports and the Cardinals believed McLaughlin would be a permanent fixture on the stand for the foreseeable future. When McLaughlin left, the focus was on hiring a household name.
During the Cardinals’ annual Winter Warm-up charity event last week, CEO Bill DeWitt Jr. noted that several outside candidates were being considered. Connections to St. Louis are not essential, but will be considered.
“I think that’s a positive aspect of someone’s resume,” DeWitt said. “I would say that’s part of the mix.”
With Caray, the Cardinals gain a legacy in sports broadcasting and hail from St. Louis. Caray, born in 1965, spent most of his childhood in the St. Louis area. — Woo
What that means for Braves
Caray, 57, is a University of Georgia graduate who returned to Atlanta in 2005 when he was hired to work alongside his father, legendary Braves broadcaster Skip Caray. The two enjoyed their time together before Skip died in his sleep in August 2008 after his health had deteriorated the previous year.
Skip had worked as a Braves broadcaster since 1976 and was as famous across North America as most of the Braves’ star players, such was the reach of the Braves’ broadcast for many years on the TBS SuperStation.
Chip Caray’s departure ends a 46-year streak of at least one Caray in the Braves broadcast booth. It’s unknown who the Braves will be hiring as a replacement, and a source said it could be difficult to find an experienced replacement from outside the Braves network with spring training just a month away.
Before joining the Braves, Chip Caray spent seven seasons as a Cubs broadcaster, following in the footsteps of his grandfather, a legendary broadcaster with both the Cardinals and later the Cubs. On May 13, 1991, the three Carays shared a broadcast booth for a Cubs Braves game.
Before his long stint with the Cubs, Caray spent the 1991 and 1992 seasons in the Braves’ dressing room and broadcast the Seattle Mariners games for three seasons. – O’Brien
Caray’s initial exit from Braves was short-lived
Chip Caray was not pleased when his own job description changed shortly after his return to Atlanta when the Braves were sold by Time Warner and the number of Braves games on TBS/Peachtree was reduced from 150 to 75 and then 45 duties morphed transitioned from the Braves’ voice to a Braves/TBS national position combination that required him to be away from the Braves to play Sunday TBS games and he was uncomfortable with the split.
After the 2009 season, Caray and Turner agreed to part ways. However, just three weeks later, Caray was hired as the Braves’ play-by-play man at Fox Sports South and SportSouth to replace Jon Sciambi, who was leaving for a position at ESPN. At the time, Braves’ games were split between networks, but later recombined under the Fox Sports South and Southeast regional networks, later renamed Bally Sports South and Bally Sports Southeast. — O’Brien
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