Aug 04 2008
Voice of the Braves silenced: Skip Caray dies at age 68
By Bud L. Ellis
braves.today.com
ATLANTA – I consider myself lucky not to have heard Skip Caray bellow the two most famous calls in Braves’ history as they happened.
That’s because I was inside Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium the night Sid Bream slid home to win the 1992 National League pennant, and the night the Braves won the 1995 World Series. A walkman transistor radio in my backpack, I didn’t even bother trying to listen in the ninth inning of either game; the noise in the old ballyard was so loud, it was pointless to try.
But the way Caray described those fateful moments in the history of this team’s rise to glory are as well known as the man who spoke those now-famous words. “Braves Win! Braves Win! Braves Win! Braves Win! Braves WIN!!,” Caray screamed as the Braves piled on top of Bream at home plate, his run giving the Braves a stunning 3-2 victory over Pittsburgh in Game 7 of the 1992 NLCS. “Yes! Yes! Yes! The Atlanta Braves have given you a championship!!,” Caray exclaimed as Marquis Grissom gloved the final out of Game 6 of the 1995 World Series.
Skip Caray died peacefully in his sleep Sunday afternoon at age 68, silencing the Voice of the Braves and the voice of my youth. For all the attention paid to his two most famous moments behind the mike, for me, Caray was the man who was a big part of the background music as I fell in love with the game.
Watching the Braves with my grandfather in the late 1970s and early 1980s, there were three voices: Ernie Johnson Sr., Pete Van Wieren and Skip. Announcers would come and announcers would go. The team was bad, then the team got better than any of us dreamed it ever could be, and all the while, Skip was behind the mike, calling the action only as Skip could.
If the game was out of hand, Skip would tell you to go walk the dog, “as long as you promise to patronize the sponsors.” If the bases were loaded, Skip often would opine, “and I wish I was, too.” If a foul ball soared into the stands, Skip might offer, “a fan from Douglasville comes away with that one.”
Skip said what was on his mind. During his long run hosting a call-in show before games, he became famous for totally ripping into callers who didn’t know what they were talking about. With age, Skip mellowed and eventually the call-in show faded away.
What won’t fade are the memories of listening to Skip call the action for parts of four decades. He was there for 100-loss seasons, 100-win seasons, last-place finishes, World Series appearances, calling everybody from Paul Assenmacher to Paul Zuvella, from Chipper to Smoltz, from Murphy to Justice, from Niekro to Glavine.
Skip was the Braves. Now that he’s gone, it just won’t be the same. As cruel and difficult as this 2008 season has been, it reached a whole new level Sunday night with the text message relaying the sad news:
The voice of my youth now is silent. Skip is gone. God bless, rest in peace, and thanks for the memories.
Now to Sunday’s game:
Braves 5, Brewers 0
Top of the Order: Jorge Campillo’s seven sparkling innings and first-inning RBIs from Mark Kotsay and Omar Infante led the way as Atlanta salvaged the final game of a dismal 2-5 homestand.
The Good: Campillo continues making a case to be not just a part of the 2009 starting rotation, but a pillar of it. The right-hander beat the Brewers for the third time this season, holding one of baseball’s most powerful lineups to six hits with no walks and six strikeouts in seven innings. Jeff Bennett (2/3 inning), Will Ohman (1/3 inning) and Mike Gonzalez (one inning) finished off the shutout. Offensively, the Braves gave Campillo all he needed in the bottom of the first, on run-scoring doubles by Kotsay and Infante. Kelly Johnson was the only Braves hitter with a multi-hit day (2-for-4), but every position player who started other than Clint Sammons tallied a hit. Gregor Blanco walked three times and added a single. Yunel Escobar drove in two runs. Off the field, Tom Glavine will pitch at Class A Myrtle Beach today to kick off his rehabilitation assignment. Rehabbing outfielder Matt Diaz, out since late May with a knee injury, has been cleared to resume his rehab stint at week’s end. Catcher Brian McCann, out for a week with a concussion, likely will return to action tonight as a seven-game road trip begins in San Francisco.
The Bad: Ugh, another month, another trip to the disabled list for Rafael Soriano, who is back on the shelf with the same ol’ problem: elbow inflammation. Left-hander Francisley Bueno (2-5, 5.02 ERA in 17 games – including 12 starts – at Triple-A Richmond) was called up to replace Soriano, who has moaned and groaned all season about his elbow while appearing in just 14 games. Thanks for playing your part in running this season into the ground, Rafael. Campillo’s last inning got a little dicey when he sailed a throw for an error that put runners on second and third. But Campillo struck out the next two hitters to end the inning.
View from the Sports Garage: Normally, facing Ben Sheets is nothing for Braves’ fans to get excited about, as dude has absolutely killed this team in his career. But not on this day, no sir, as the Bravos stepped up and threw two runs on the board in the bottom of the first inning. The lineup again was undersized, with no McCann and no Chipper Jones. But give the Braves credit for some great at-bats against Sheets early on, giving Campillo all he needed with those first two runs. Dude threw 68 of his 101 pitches for strikes and continues to demonstrate he is no three-month flash-in-the-pan, but instead a pitcher who is going to factor in this team’s success beyond the next eight weeks. A nice win, for sure, to end a wretched homestand. Thinking about all that we’ve wrote about since this team came home from Philadelphia, it’s nice to end this putrid stretch with a good showing today. Not going to turn this thing around, we know that. But, a good win, and as long as there are two months left, might as well try to win some games, right? Now, the road calls …
On deck
Braves at Giants
10:15 p.m. today, AT&T Park
The Skinny: Two pretty good young pitchers toe the slab as the Braves begin a West Coast swing through San Francisco and Arizona. For the Bravos, Jair Jurrjens (10-6, 3.06 ERA) gave up seven hits and three runs in a loss to St. Louis Wednesday. JJJ has been awesome for the most part for this team, but is just 10 1/3 innings from his career high in innings pitched in a season, so the Braves will be watching to see how the 22-year-old handles himself in his final few starts of the season. For San Fran, right-hander Matt Cain (6-9, 3.70 ERA) may not have a great record, but dude is one reason the Giants are optimistic about their future. In his past 10 starts, he’s averaged seven strikeouts a start and has a 2.60 ERA, but only has four wins in that span.
—30—
Bud, it is a sad day. I found it hard to take at 7 am this morning when I turned on the news.
i heard the news during ESPN’s sunday night telecast when jon miller announced it. certainly very sad. many of my summers for basically my entire life consisted of watching braves games and of course skip was on the mic. it sounds silly but you sort of come to know him over that many years.
BTW bud, good luck with the little one starting kindergarten…that early to be starting back to school (or first time to school in this case)!