Broadcaster Brandon Gaudin will be the new play-by-play announcer for Atlanta Braves telecasts on Bally Sports South and Southeast, the network announced Thursday. Here’s what you need to know:
- Gaudin — who has served as the play-by-play voice for the “Madden NFL” video game since the 2017 edition — replaces Chip Caray, who left to take the same position on Cardinals broadcasts in January. Caray was raised in St. Louis and is the grandson of legendary Cardinals broadcaster Harry Caray.
- Caray’s departure ended a run of 46 years with at least one Caray in the Braves’ broadcast booth. His father, Skip, was a Braves broadcaster from 1976 until his death in 2008.
- The Indiana native Gaudin has also been a play-by-play broadcaster with Fox Sports and the Big Ten Network for the last seven years, calling MLB, NFL, college football and basketball games. He also previously called Georgia Tech football, men’s basketball and baseball games from 2013-16 and has lived in Atlanta since.
The Athletic’s instant analysis:
Who is Gaudin?
Bally and the Braves did a thorough search to find a replacement for Caray, and landed a solid replacement in Gaudin, 39, whom many fans (especially younger ones) will know as the voice of “Madden NFL” since 2017. Bally didn’t hire him for that, but it’s a plus as broadcast outlets pursue younger fans for baseball viewership.
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They hired Gaudin because he’s easy to listen to, knowledgeable, enthusiastic and has extensive multi-sport broadcasting experience including MLB baseball on Fox as well as college ball on the Big Ten Network, after beginning his career broadcasting Georgia Tech sports including baseball. He’s lived in Atlanta since 2013. — O’Brien
His Braves connection
Though born and raised in Evansville, Ind., Gaudin became an avid fan of both the Braves and their iconic broadcasters while watching games on TBS SuperStation as a kid. He has an appreciation and excitement about the rich history of the team and reverence for its broadcasters, including the late Skip Caray, the father of the man Gaudin is replacing.
At age 13, Gaudin wrote Skip a letter asking for advice, and got a reply with the late Caray advising him on what to do as an aspiring broadcaster. Gaudin said when he met Skip at a game in Atlanta in 1998, he was starstruck. — O’Brien
What they’re saying
“Today is the realization of a childhood dream,” Gaudin said in a release. “I get to be behind the mic for the team I grew up idolizing. And the team who fostered my love for both sports and broadcasting.”
Derek Schiller, Braves president and CEO, added: “The Braves have had a legendary lineup of broadcasters throughout our history and we are excited to find someone who is familiar with our past from growing up a Braves fan and respecting those who came before him.”
Required reading
(Photo: Brett Davis / USA Today)
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