Bally Sports Midwest and the St. Louis Cardinals announced Chip Caray as the new play-by-play announcer for the upcoming season.
Caray, a St. Louis native, has been the voice of the Atlanta Braves for Bally Sports South for a total of 20 seasons, and previously called games for the Seattle Mariners and Chicago Cubs. His father Skip and grandfather Harry were both play-by-play announcers, making him the third generation of Carays to get the gig.
He joined KMOX for Cardinals Countdown to Opening Day on Wednesday and talked more about the new position. He said his excitement level for the new gig is “sky high.”
“Still can't believe it's real. Grateful to so many people who helped me along the way,” he said. “And look, to come back home and call games for the team that helped me fall in love with baseball as a kid growing up in West County in St. Louis, it's a dream come true. And life comes full circle. Man, it took me three decades plus to figure out that St. Louis is where I was supposed to be.”
Caray said that when he got the call from Bally Midwest about coming home to St. Louis, he almost started crying. “That’s when it really started to hit home,” he said. “And then all the wonderful things that people have written both in Atlanta and St. Louis — I mean, my family is really just overwhelmed, not just with what's been a real positive reception and reaction. But just as I said, so many people…who have helped me along the way here — the old saying ‘it takes a village’ really is true.”
Caray told another outlet that St. Louis would be the only place he’d leave Atlanta for. He explained that it was in part because of the impact the Cardinals had on him growing up.
“I come from an era where you knew the ‘64 Cardinals lineup before you knew the alphabet,” he joked. “I went through some years where the Cardinals weren't so good, but they're always entertaining, because the fans were so passionate about the way the game was played.”
Hear more from new Bally Sports Midwest Cardinals play-by-play announcer Chip Caray on KMOX:
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