UPDATE: You have to read his Wikipedia entry. They have some of his best quotes. He was great.

My favorite one from back in the 1980’s: “And, like lambs to the slaughter, the Braves take the field”

As I mentioned yesterday, legendary baseball announcer Skip Caray died Sunday.

Skip and his announcing partner, Pete, were fixtures of Atlanta Braves baseball for over 30 years.

I grew up watching Braves baseball on TBS with Skip and Pete calling the games. As Crotalus mentioned, this was back in the dismal 1980’s when it was not uncommon for the Braves to lose 100 games in a season.

Southern humorist Lewis Grizzard once quipped:

What do Michael Jackson and the Atlanta Braves have in common?

They both wear one glove for no apparent reason.

Yeah, they were bad, but I watched them all the same.

But in 1991, they turned it around and went on a 14 year winning streak. When I went off to college (1992), the Braves were having another stellar year and appeared ready to head back to the World Series. I remember the fateful night in October when the Braves pulled out a victory to win the National League Championship. We were playing intramural football and missed the game, but someone had a radio tuned to the game on the sidelines and would shout updates from time to time.

Then it happened….

Sid Bream somehow made it around the bases and beat the throw to home by inches….

Skip was there: Here’s the legendary call

Every baseball season I was in college was spent watching the Braves almost every night on TBS or SportsSouth. My buddies and I had a system worked out so we could hear Skip the whole game.

Skip and Pete would do half the game on TV and the other half over the radio. When it was their turn to head over to the radio both, we would mute the TV and turn on the radio.

Why?

Because Skip was incredibly funny to listen to. The man knew baseball. Unfortunately he also had a drinking problem, but that made it even more enjoyable. He would say off the wall things and we would yell at the TV “Take another drink Skip”. You just never knew what was going to come out of his mouth.

I never met the man, but sure wish I had. Back before the Olympics, Atlanta Fulton County Stadium was the place to be. There wasn’t a bad seat in the place. You could get in for next to nothing and watch the Braves actually win a game. Turner Field just doesn’t have the same feel.

So here’s to you Skip.

I’ll miss listening to you call the games.

Rest in peace.