Chip Caray follows grandpa’s footsteps as voice of Cardinals

Bally Sports Midwest announced Caray’s hiring in a statement Monday. The voice of the Atlanta Braves is replacing Dan McLaughlin, who left the Cardinals booth in December after 24 years following his third arrest for drunken driving.

“I’m grateful and excited to come home and call games for the team that made me fall in love with baseball as a kid in St. Louis County,” Caray said. “I have always admired the passion, knowledge and loyalty of Cardinals fans, both here in St. Louis and across the country. The honor of continuing the legacy of my grandfather Harry, my dad Skip and so many other great Cardinal broadcasters, past and present, is the stuff dreams are made of.”

The third generation of Carays to broadcast in the major leagues spent the past 20 seasons as the voice of the Braves on Bally Sports South, Bally Sports Southeast, TBS and Peachtree TV. He also called games regionally for the Seattle Mariners and Chicago Cubs, where his grandfather spent the final 16 years of his career.

Harry Caray got his break in broadcasting with the Cardinals, though, beginning alongside former catcher Gabby Street in 1945. He held down the job alongside such luminaries as Joe Garagiola and Jack Buck through the 1969 season, then went on to spend a season with the A’s before a decade with the White Sox and the rest of his career with the Cubs.

Chip Caray’s father, Skip, was part of the Braves broadcast team from 1976 until his death in 2008. And his brother, Josh Caray, is the play-by-play voice of the Rocket City Trash Pandas, the Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels.

“The Cardinals are pleased to share in today’s announcement,” Cardinals President Bill DeWitt III said. “Chip brings a wealth of experience to the booth and has a great feel for the history and tradition of the franchise.”

The Miami Marlins acquired reliever Matt Barnes in a trade with the Boston Red Sox. Miami sent left-hander Richard Bleier to Boston for Barnes, and the Red Sox will pay the Marlins $5,625,000 to cover more than half the $10.25 million Barnes is guaranteed.

The 32-year-old Barnes was designated for assignment when the Red Sox signed outfielder Adam Duvall last week. Barnes helped Boston win the 2018 World Series, going 6-4 with a 3.65 ERA and 96 strikeouts over 61 2/3 innings as a hard-throwing setup man that season. He was an All-Star closer in 2021.

Miami’s young star Jazz Chisholm Jr. has been revealed as the cover athlete for Sony’s MLB The Show 2023 video game.

Chisholm, an avid video game player, is the first Marlins player to appear on the cover of the American version of the game, but he joins a host of athletes across Miami sports who have been major video game cover athletes.

The 24-year-old Chisholm has a career .243 batting average and .449 slugging percentage.

A new Tampa Bay Rays ballpark will be built as part of a massive redevelopment project in what was once a thriving Black neighborhood.

Mayor Ken Welch of St. Petersburg, Florida, chose a partnership Monday between the Rays and the Houston-based Hines development company from among four proposals to transform an 86-acre downtown site where Tropicana Field now sits.

The plan also includes affordable housing, office space, retail, hotel rooms, an entertainment venue and a new Woodson African American Museum of Florida.

Welch said the idea is to create a destination for people who come to Rays games and to build a new community.

Right-hander Darren O’Day, who posted a 4.15 ERA in 28 games with the Atlanta Braves in 2022, announced Monday he is retiring after 15 seasons for six teams in the major leagues.

O’Day said on his Twitter account “it’s finally time to hang ’em up.”

“The mental, physical and time demands have finally outweighed my love for the game,” O’Day said.

O’Day, 40, featured an unconventional sidearm delivery. He was 42-21 with a 2.59 ERA in 644 games, all in relief. He made his major league debut in 2008 with the Angels and pitched seven seasons, from 2012-18, for the Baltimore Orioles.

A man who pounded a large drum while sitting in Cleveland’s outfield bleachers during baseball games for five decades has died.John Adams was 71. The Guardians announced Adams’ death on Monday.

Adams first hauled a bass drum that he bought for $25 at a garage sale to a game at Municipal Stadium during the 1973 season. He moved with the team to its new downtown ballpark in the 1990s and became a Cleveland sports fixture.

Adams drummed during more than 3,500 games, including three All-Star games and three World Series. He was honored by the team last season with a replica bronze sculpture of his drum.

Former big leaguer Brad Wilkerson has been hired as the New York Yankees’ assistant hitting coach. He replaces Hensley Meulens, who left to become Colorado’s hitting coach.

Wilkerson and Casey Dykes will be assistants to Yankees hitting coach Dillon Lawson.

Wilkerson spent three seasons as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for Jacksonville. He hit .247 with 122 homers and 399 RBIs in eight seasons for Montreal/Washington, Texas, Seattle and Toronto.