Longtime Braves TV play-by-play broadcaster Chip Caray is "leaving his position with Bally Sports South and will join the Bally Sports Midwest broadcasting team as the lead play-by-play announcer" for the Cardinals, according to sources cited by Woo & O'Brien of THE ATHLETIC. Caray, the grandson of legendary former Cardinals broadcaster Harry Caray, will "replace Dan McLaughlin, who was set to begin his 25th season as the lead television voice with the Cardinals this season." McLaughlin was "arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated in early December." He was eventually "charged with a felony persistent DWI." Caray will be "paired with Brad Thompson and Jim Edmonds, who will alternate between the analyst role and hosting in-studio." Thompson will be the lead analyst for the "majority of the 2023 broadcasts." A source said that Caray is "leaving the Braves position entirely by his choice ... adding that the pull of going 'home' to St. Louis was strong." With Caray leaving, it will "end a run of 46 years with at least one Caray in the Braves’ broadcast booth." It is "not known whom the Braves will hire to replace him." A source said that it "could be difficult to find an experienced replacement from outside the Braves network, since spring training is only a month away" (THE ATHLETIC, 1/23).
JUUUUUST A BIT OUTSIDE: In St. Louis, Dan Caesar cites sources as saying that one of the "strongest contenders," Mariners broadcaster Aaron Goldsmith, "recently pulled his name out of the competition." Goldsmith, who has been with the Mariners for a decade, "has strong St. Louis ties" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 1/24).
