For my life, all I have ever known is Chip Caray in the broadcast booth. However, the long-time play-by-play Braves announcer left for what he thought were greener pastures in St. Louis.
His father, Skip Caray, was the long-time voice of the Braves, and his grandfather, Harry Carary, was the voice of the Cardinals for 25 years. The grass isn’t always greener. Though it’s one of the most storied franchises in all of sports, the Cardinals are one of the most disappointing teams in baseball.
No matter how historic an organization is, calling the best club in baseball is always more fun, not to mention the Braves have an illustrious history of their own.
This season was the first of a new crew, spearheaded by a new play-by-play announcer — Brandon Gaudin. He grew up a Braves fan and even wrote a letter to Skip Caray asking how to get into sports broadcasting. Now, he has his dream job, and he’s knocking it out of the park.
In Awful Announcing’s ranking of local broadcast crews voted on by readers, the Braves broadcast booth came in just outside of the top 10 but higher than any of the previous rankings with Caray as play-by-play announcer.
Play-by-play: Brandon Gaudin
Analysts: Jeff Francoeur, Tom Glavine, Nick Green, Peter MoylanMost common grade: B (34.01% of votes)
Previous rankings: 21 (2014), 13 (2016), 23 (2017), 20 (2018), 21 (2019)
Previous grades: 2.06 (2014), 2.41 (2016), 1.91 (2017), 2.24 (2018), 2.08 (2019)Comments: Speaking of new play-by-play broadcasters, welcome to Atlanta, Brandon Gaudin. After replacing Chip Caray this year, Gaudin has taken off in the Braves’ booth, freshening up a broadcast that was beginning to grow a bit stale.
The comments are spot on. Gaudin has brought a new feel to Braves games. Caray always had to give his two cents during every moment, regardless of how big of a play or stage. Gaudin, on the other hand, knows when to let the moment speak for itself. I enjoyed Chip Caray, but it’s the era of Brandon Gaudin for Braves Country now, and we are lucky to have him.
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Photographer: David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire
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