Braves broadcaster Caray dies

ATLANTA – Skip Caray, a voice of the Atlanta Braves for 33 years and part of a family line of baseball broadcasters that included Hall of Famer Harry Caray, died in his sleep at home on Sunday, the team said. He was 68.

The cause of death was not immediately known, but various health problems had limited Caray to calling only Braves home games this season.

“We’ve all lost a very good friend,” Braves manager Bobby Cox said. “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.”

Caray was drawn into broadcasting by his father, Harry, the longtime voice of the Chicago Cubs and a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Caray and Pete Van Wieren have been broadcasting Braves games since 1976. Caray’s sarcastic wit made him a popular lead voice of the broadcast team, and his fame grew nationally as TBS carried Braves games to a national audience for 30 years.

After decades of calling the Braves America’s Team, TBS this year began a seven-year contract of national weekly telecasts, leaving the Braves to the regional Peachtree TV network – and leaving Caray to radio work on home games.

Health problems also cut into Caray’s workload. This year he said he was battling diabetes, congestive heart failure, an irregular heartbeat and reduced kidney and liver functions.

Still, Caray’s death came as a shock, even to those who worked closely with him.

“He’s had some medical issues but you’re never ready for something like this,” longtime TBS producer Glenn Diamond said Sunday night. “We’re all very shocked by the timing.”