Grace White is a college senior who plays first base for Union University, a DII school in Jackson, Tennessee, and is majoring in Journalism. She is the Sports Editor for the Cardinal & Cream, the school’s student publication, and has a younger sister who plays in the Virginia Unity club organization.
In today’s Inside Pitch, Grace remembers her fandom from an early age for the MLB-playing Atlanta Braves and how the one seemingly constant over the years has been the comforting voice of play-by-play announcer Chip Caray, who, for the last 14 years has been there rain or shine and no matter who took the field for the National League team.
But that all changed in January with the announced move of Caray to the St. Louis Cardinals’ broadcast booth and, in her latest contribution to Extra Inning softball, the college softball standout explains how that has impacted her as a Braves fan since she was eight years old…
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On Oct. 4, 2009, I went to my first Atlanta Braves game.
They played the Washington Nationals at Turner Field—the home of the Braves from 1997 to 2016—and the game went 15 innings with the Braves losing 2-1. I was eight years old at the time and my only experience with baseball to that point was playing t-ball for a couple of years before transitioning to coach-pitch softball.
Little did I know that that game in 2009 would change my life—from then on, I was a diehard Braves fan.
Anything you wanted to know about them, I could probably tell you. I went to a game on my birthday in 2010 and, that Christmas, everything I asked for was Braves related.
I got Braves house shoes, a Braves calendar, Braves pens and pencils, and even a red alternate jersey (which is my favorite uniform they have) featuring Jason Heyward on the back.
Since my fandom started, the team has changed a lot over the years.
When I first started watching, Chipper Jones was in the last seasons of his career and Freddie Freeman was just getting his start while Dansby Swanson and Ozzie Albies weren’t even really given much thought yet by Braves fans.
Now, Freeman, after having served as the darling of the Braves for close to a decade, is a Los Angeles Dodger, and Swanson and Albies, specs on the radar way back in 2009, helped lead the Braves to their first World Series title since 1995 with Swanson now a Chicago Cub and Albies penciled in as an anchor of Braves teams to come.
Great players have come and gone in Atlanta, but the one thing that has remained constant over the years is the voice of Braves baseball, Chip Caray.
Even when all the players that I liked were traded or signed with other teams in free agency, I could always count on hearing Caray provide play-by-play for every game.
Caray comes from a rich history of baseball broadcasters: both his grandfather Harry Caray and his father Skip Caray were great announcers and were loved by their listeners.
Harry called St. Louis Cardinals games for 25 years, afterwards working a year as the announcer for the Oakland A’s and then 11 years with the Chicago White Sox. He spent the last 16 years of his career calling Chicago Cubs games. Skip spent most of his career as an announcer for the Braves and was seen all over the country via TBS in its baseball-televising heyday.
Chip Caray did Cubs play-by-play from 1998 to 2004 and, from there, he went to Atlanta where he worked for about four years before I started caring so deeply about the Braves.
Earlier this year, my sister sent me a social media post on from the Cardinals. I was confused because neither of us care about the Cardinals so I wondered what relevance it would hold for me.
I opened it and saw a picture of Chip Caray; the post announced that my beloved broadcaster was leaving Atlanta to become the play-by-play announcer for the Cardinals:
Welcome home Chip Caray! 🎙️
The St. Louis native is the new play-by-play announcer for #STLCards baseball on @BallySportsMW. pic.twitter.com/ML3u5Sq7Bs
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) January 30, 2023
My heart dropped.
I’ve had to get used to the idea of players leaving even though I still don’t like it, but it never occurred to me that the man I had known as the voice of the Braves ever since 2010 would consider leaving Atlanta.
After I saw the news, it occurred to me how much sports teams can define eras of the lives of their fans. Chipper got me to my teenage years. Then Craig Kimbrel, an electric closer for the Braves from 2010-2014, led me just about to high school.
From there, Freddie Freeman took over, until he left Atlanta following the 2021 season. Through all of that, Chip Caray was a constant. I took his being there for granted until now that he’s gone.
In my mind, his leaving signifies the end of my childhood and my official entrance into adulthood!
Caray was there from the time I was eight years old to the time I was 21. A lot happened in those 13 years—from my mom passing away to getting my driver’s license to going to college.
Now, even though Caray is the one leaving, I feel like a baby bird jumping out of the nest and giving up all the comfort and familiarity that it had.
Change is a given in life, but it’s one of the things I hate the most. However, it’s necessary, and many times is better than could ever be expected.
I hope that that’s the case with Caray’s departure.
But even if the next Atlanta play-by-play announcer is good, I will always think of Chip Caray as the voice of the Braves…
— Grace White, Extra Inning Softball correspondent
