News of Skip Caray's passing hit the Braves family hard —- his longtime broadcast partner and players who identified this organization with Caray long before they ever became a part of it, even the most veteran of players —- Tom Glavine, Chipper Jones and John Smoltz.

Smoltz and Caray's broadcast partner Pete Van Wieren were on the Braves' charter flight to San Francisco when they learned of Caray's death.

"It's a sad day," Smoltz said. "There are no words. Sad doesn't do it justice. I will always remember Skip for his humor and his ability to go about life the way he did. I gained so much respect for what he did and how long he did and how he did."

Jones was at home with his family on Sunday evening when he was informed.

"I figured Skip Caray is as much a part of Atlanta Braves baseball as any of us," said Jones, who will rejoin the team in Arizona later this week. "We all grew up listening to Skip, whether it be on TV or radio. Any time the guys on ESPN imitate [you] calling the highlights, you're pretty much a legend."

Said manager Bobby Cox: "This was completely unexpected and is a complete loss. I had just spoken with Skip this week when we did the radio show, and I didn't know he wasn't feeling well. He seemed in his normal good spirits. We've all lost a very good friend. For me, he was a good buddy —- at the park and away from the park. We always had a lot of great laughs. He will be very sorely missed."

Cox tapped a napping Van Wieren on the shoulder during the flight to inform him of Caray's death.

Fans related so well to Caray, Van Wieren said, because he told it like it was, even if he couched it in humor.

"But behind the humor there was an honesty and a commitment to telling it like he believed it to be that never, ever varied," Van Wieren said. "If he didn't like it that a game was two minutes late getting started, everybody knew about it. If he had an opinion on a player, he said it. And he had a way of saying it that was sometimes humorous. The way he could take a bad ball game, in some of those bad years especially, and turn it into a fun broadcast, whether it was by talking about something in the game or whether it was talking about something that didn't have anything to do with the game, maybe it was a movie that was coming up after the game or maybe it was a restaurant that he'd gone to. It could have been anything. ... That's a very, very unique ability."

Caray's health had deteriorated over the past year, and he faced several close calls during a hospital stay last fall. But Caray, who was broadcasting only home games this season, worked as recently as Thursday's game.

"Regardless of how much you prepare yourself for it, you're always surprised," Glavine said. "Skip, of late, seemed to be doing a lot better. His immediate future was off of everybody's minds. It's a surprise, a shock."

Glavine said he'll cherish the relationship he developed with Caray over the years, especially the joking with one another.

"I'll miss that, seeing him around the game, taking a jab or two," Glavine said.

OTHER REACTIONS

John Kincade, who hosts the afternoon 680/The Fan Buck & Kincade sports talk show:

"The man never sugar-coated anything. If the Braves were playing terribly, he told you. Many people who work for teams or have covered them for a long time don't have the guts and integrity to do that."

Former Braves star Dale Murphy:

"I knew that he had been battling some health issues, but I was just really shocked and saddened when I got the e-mail. And I was grateful for the many years I was able to be with Skip from 1976 until 1990.

"Skip saw the funny side of things and enjoyed making people laugh when we weren't giving them too much to smile about during some of those years that I was with the Braves."

Bob Hope, former vice-president of public relations, promotions and ticket sales for the Braves:

"I remember one time when we were both with the Hawks, Skip got me to join him before a game at the old Omni club. He'd have two or three drinks, but he could pull it off. ...

"He could get away with things other people couldn't. He could be a loose cannon, but he was collegial, and that mix really worked well in the South. That broadcasting team, him and Ernie [Johnson] and Pete [Van Wieren] they were the personality of the team. They were the people fans most identified with."

Mike Bell, an afternoon host at sports station 790/The Zone, who often mimicked Caray on the air.

"The last time I did it for him two weeks ago, he said, 'Chip does a better impression of me.' He always took it well."

Longtime Braves fan Charles Davidson, a public affairs specialist in Atlanta:

"He called it like a fan, but he was nobody's mouthpiece. He never tried to be anything he wasn't."

—- Staff writers Christian Boone, Rodney Ho and Tim Tucker contributed to this article.