Chip Caray will be back in the Braves’ broadcast booth this week for the first time since he called two spring training games in February.
“It feels like that was about eight years ago,” he said Monday.
Caray, the Braves’ TV play-by-play announcer, will call the team’s exhibition games Tuesday night and Wednesday afternoon at Truist Park against the Miami Marlins on Fox Sports Southeast. Then he’ll call the Braves’ regular-season opener Friday afternoon against the Mets on Fox Sports South from Truist, although that game will be played at New York’s Citi Field.
Having broadcasters describe road games from hundreds of miles away based on camera feeds displayed on monitors, rather than traveling to the game sites, is one of many ways this MLB season will be different amid the coronavirus pandemic.
As he drove through South Georgia on Monday, making his way from his St. Augustine, Fla., home to an apartment near Truist Park for the start of an abbreviated season, Caray talked with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution about the unusual circumstances ahead. (The interview was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
Q: For starters, are you excited about finally getting back to the ballpark?
A: Yeah, I think everybody needs it for myriad reasons – emotional, psychological, professional, financial. You name it, it’s great to be back. We’re just excited to talk about baseball. With all the stuff going on in the world right now, I think we could all use something to rally behind. I miss my baseball family. I miss talking baseball with our great fans. Like everybody else, I’ve been chomping at the bit since March. All of us have waited and hoped this day would come for the past four months, and now it’s here. So, let’s get rolling.
Q: Have you thought a lot, though, about how different it’s going to be?
A: It’s going to be different, there’s no doubt about it. I think it’s going to be easier doing the home games because we’re going to be there and see live action instead of relying on a camera angle to tell us what the heck is going on. Look, road games are going to be a challenge. It’s also going to be just as concerning to not hear the crowd (as games are played without fans in attendance). The fans are what make broadcasts exciting because they provide so much energy. I’ll be fascinated to see what Major League Baseball and the Braves in particular do with regards to fake crowd noise. I was not a fan of that to begin with, but I can see why it’s going to be important.
Q: What will be the hardest part about calling road games without being there?
A: We don’t (typically) broadcast games off monitors. At least I don’t. When you see the ball off the bat, you know where it’s going. You can see the outfielders move. You can see that subtle shift by an infielder a step or two left or right before a pitch is made. But when you’re relying on a TV camera that may not be focused on all of that, you’re really and truly throwing darts blindfolded, so being patient and waiting for a play to develop is going to be key. (Editor’s note: On Braves road games this season, the home team’s TV network will send camera feeds to the Fox Sports South/Southeast production team at Truist Park, and Caray’s play-by-play call will be based on watching those feeds.) I look at it as a challenge. If we stub our toes a couple of times as we get used to it, that’s to be expected. I’m very confident in our great crew. We’re just approaching this as a summer-camp adventure, and we’re going to put the best possible broadcast on, considering the limitations we’re plagued with. I’m up for the challenge, and I know (analysts) Jeff (Francoeur) and Tom (Glavine) are, too.
Q: Will you practice calling a game off a monitor before Friday’s regular-season opener?
A: What I’m probably going to try to do (during the exhibition games at Truist Park on Tuesday and Wednesday) is turn around and not look at the field and broadcast the games off monitors for an inning or two, just to get a feel for it. I think that’s the best way to practice it. I’ve never done it before. It’d be like me going to do hockey. I’ve never done hockey. Until you’ve done it and have a feel for it, it’s that great unknown.
Q: What have these past four months without baseball been like for you?
A: It has been nerve-wracking. It has been hard emotionally, no question about it, for varied reasons. But I have tried to look at it as bonus time with my family, which is great. We need the sport for a lot of reasons, and hopefully we can get all (60) games in and get the Braves in the playoffs and see where October takes us.
Q: Baseball’s shutdown also took away your livelihood, didn’t it? Aren’t you paid by the game?
A: That’s correct.
Q: Another reason to be glad to be back?
A: No question about it. No doubt about it. That was very, very hard.
Q: On the telecasts this season, how will you balance covering all that is different because of the pandemic vs. focusing on the game itself?
A: I think if ever there’s a year where there are no rules, this would be it. How could you not talk about what’s going on in the world, at least at the start? It’d be foolish not to mention this is different. We would be remiss in not telling that part of the story, but my own personal belief is people are going to tune in to games to watch baseball. I think our country is craving sports.
Q: What do you think will be the key to whether the Braves again win the National League East and maybe finally advance in the playoffs?
A: That would be nice; it’s been way too long since 2001 (when the Braves last won a playoff round). The (No. 1 key) for the Braves and everybody else this season is player responsibility and staff responsibility – not so much when they’re at home but when they’re on the road. It seems that Major League Baseball and the players are really taking (COVID-19) seriously, and that’s going to be key to pulling this thing off. The last thing you want, quite obviously, is anybody getting sick, but from a baseball standpoint, if you lose your entire infield for two weeks, those two weeks are a quarter of your season with this quick sprint to the postseason.
