Great game between the Twins and Tigers today to settle the AL Central. Wish I could say the same though for TBS play-by-play announcer Chip Caray.
(12 innings? Wait, Twins & Tigers could’ve gone home in the 10th - per Chip)
Scene-check: Tie game, bottom of the 10th, one out, Twins have winning run in Alexi Casillas at third base and Nick Punto at the plate.
Video of the Caray-wrought catastrophe after the jump.
I spent 10 years as a major and minor-league baseball announcer on radio and television, so I realize there’s a lot of pressure on Caray in that situation.
(”Line drive basehit! … caught out there!”)
Opposite day!
As a public service, here’s the radio feed of the game.
UPDATE: Twins win 6-5 in 12. Can’t tell you if Caray botched anything at the end as I was dialed into Dan Schulman and Dave Campbell on ESPN radio.
Silver lining: Caray will be able to show his face in the Twins’ clubhouse without being duct-taped to a urinal.
UPDATE:
In case first video gets taken down:
10:20 pm on October 6th, 2009
He was rooting for the Tigers too. I got sick of hearing how much it meant to the poor city of Detroit.
10:25 pm on October 6th, 2009
I had a hard time understanding much of what he said because he had Mauer’s junk in his mouth the whole night
3:03 am on October 7th, 2009
So he was rooting for both teams? What a guy!
5:46 am on October 7th, 2009
Chip gets a pass because he’s not as smarmy as Joe Buck. If that was Buck, it would be a huge deal, can’t stand that guy with all his almighty opinions.
8:15 am on October 7th, 2009
Chip DID botch the game ending single. Just before the ball was being fielded by Clete Thomas, he announced “there won’t be a play at the plate”, just moments before, in fact, Thomas threw home and there WAS a play at the plate. The play wasn’t close, and it was obvious he was going to be safe, but it was an important enough situation that you shouldn’t announce that the right fielder wouldn’t at least throw the ball to the plate. It’s not like the ball was over his head and he didn’t even go get it. Ridiculous.
9:43 am on October 7th, 2009
Big whoop! Like none of us have ever made a boo-boo at work….I’ve got to give Chip credit though because he used to be terrible. As a Braves fan used to get him all the time and he’s made some great strides. His metaphors used to be horrible…
9:54 am on October 7th, 2009
I would just like to say that Chip’s partner is a really good announcer. I don’t even know who he is, but I hope he’s there for the playoffs. He’s low on hyperbole and high on actual useful stuff. I loved it and he made a ton of timely calls, such as right before his home run, he was talking about O. Cabrera’s big game hits and how he wins wherever he goes.
10:51 am on October 7th, 2009
His partner is Dennis Eckersley and he’s pretty good…
11:34 am on October 7th, 2009
I think semilost may be totally lost. It’s Ron Darling.
1:30 pm on October 7th, 2009
Mountain out of a molehill guys. This was a tiny flub. Let it go.
2:04 pm on October 7th, 2009
It was Eckersly during the regular season..
2:07 pm on October 7th, 2009
Up until the 6th inning the two TBS announcers had pretty much nothing to say about either the Twins or the Tigers. Just very very general observations. Mauer is an amazing ball player. “A win for the Tigers would be good for the city of Detroit” was said about oh, 30 times. It was unbearable and I turned it off after awhile. Then turned it back on in the 8th.
2:11 pm on October 7th, 2009
Forgot to add. There were LONG periods of time where neither said anything. But whatever, it was one of the best games I’ve ever seen in the end. Go Twins!
6:54 pm on October 7th, 2009
Those who liked this guy must be Minnesota fans because this dude was horrible rooting for Minnesota the whole night on a neutral broadcast. Every time the Tigers scored there was no emotion whatsoever or when we get screwed on a call they wouldn’t bring up the “strike zone” but if Minnesota got a strike call on questionable pitch they pull that stupid thing up before the ball hit the mit. Then he was jumping for joy when he called “base hit” on a fly out. What a loser. This guy should be banned for the rest of the playoffs, and I’m sure he will be.
7:13 pm on October 7th, 2009
he did it again in the yankees game about 2 minutes ago. “BASE HIT!” “caught by delmon young, that ball was hooking and almost dropped in front of young!” (not a direct quote but close enough)
11:43 pm on October 7th, 2009
I’m a Minnesota fan and we seriously don’t care for him. It was a non stop love fest for the Yankees tonight.
12:04 am on October 8th, 2009
Chip Caray knows nothing about baseball.
9:52 am on October 8th, 2009
Mark D is spot on. I wanted to bludgeon myself just because I had to hear those 2 schmucks keep making those horrid calls.