[RIP] Skip Caray, 1939-2008

This post comes a little late. Skip Caray, a HOF broadcaster and a voice synonymous with Atlanta Braves baseball passed away last Sunday. I heard about the news and was in genuine shock, which at the time, I thought to be very strange. I mean, this was TBS' first season without any Braves games since I was born, let alone actually a Braves fan. So this season, I had MLB.tv but the broadcasters they have were a far cry from TBS' classic Four Horsemen - batterymates Skip Caray and Pete Van Wieren and their counterparts Joe Simpson and Don Sutton. I missed the TBS guys, but hey no using crying over things you can't change, right? I mean, I barely noticed who was calling the games, just that it wasn't quite as good as it used to be. Well, over the last week, my tune has changed.

Losing Skip Caray has been, in many ways symbolic of the end of an era for me and millions of Braves fans. It seems like ages ago when we were head and shoulders above the rest of the NL and things aren't the same anymore. Hearing Skip's calls now just remind me of summers gone by, a cold drink in hand and listening to that old familiar "Braves win! Braves win!" brings back some fond memories.

A few things have come up that have brought me right to the point where I may have to break the #1 rule for America's pasttime. You know, that one about "no crying in baseball." First, we have this blog entry from Bomani Jones, a sportswriter and frequent ESPN.com contributor (who also happens to be a huge fan of "The Wire") and Braves fanatic, sharing his poignant and far-more-eloquent-than-I-could-hope-to-be thoughts.
Choice snippets:

• What’s interesting, though — none of the Braves broadcasters from TBS get any love when people talk about the great voices of baseball. Maybe it’s because they aren’t the best. Skip’s nasal tone doesn’t do it for a lot of people, and the broadcast teams seemed to fade into the background of most games.
• That, to me, is what made those broadcasts so good. There has never been a less obtrusive set of announcers than Skip, Pete Van Wieren, Don Sutton and Joe Simpson. They know what they were talking about, but the game always took center stage. Nothing ever felt forced, and never was there a distraction to stop you from being able to enjoy the game. Somehow, they’ve never gotten proper credit for that.

Amen, Mr. Jones.

Second, we have a visibly shaken Ernie Johnson presenting a Turner Sports tribute to the man. It was both heartwarming and heartbreaking to watch for me.

I wish I could express it better, but Skip Caray was the voice of my childhood and it breaks my heart that he's gone. Anyone who knows me well knows I live and die with Braves baseball and I owe much of that to Skip and the rest of the old TBS crew.

RIP Skip - you were the best of the best and you've helped change my life forever. Thank you.