Gil Pound: Pound for Crushed it

May 9—Revisiting a column topic from this winter, I wrote about longtime play-by-play voice Chip Caray leaving the Braves broadcast booth.

He's now in St. Louis handling those same television duties for the Cardinals, so this is the first year Atlanta fans aren't hearing a Caray's voice on TV or radio since 1975. Chip Caray was preceded by his legendary father Skip, a man who was quick with a quip and somehow knew the hometown of every fan in the ballpark (wink).

When news broke of Chip's departure in late January, I wrote that regional sports broadcaster Bally Sports did not have to look far for a replacement since the Braves have multiple options in the radio realm already. Either Ben Ingram or Jim Powell were there for the taking, and that's where I hoped Bally would go.

That was before the revelation that is Brandon Gaudin entered our homes. A native of Evansville, Indiana, the 39-year-old Gaudin got hooked into Braves fandom thanks to Ted Turner's Superstation, TBS. Like everyone around my age who followed the ballclub, he grew up listening to Skip, Pete Van Wieren, Don Sutton and Joe Simpson calling games for one of the sports most successful franchises throughout the '90s and early 2000s.

At 13 years old, Gaudin even wrote a letter to Skip Caray asking him how best to break into the business. Skip wrote back, offering sage advice. Gaudin still has the letter and shared a picture of it on his Twitter account. Skip wrote that a journalism background was important for announcers to have, but a thorough knowledge of the English language is even more important.

Gaudin worked his way up through the broadcasting ranks with stops in Minor League Baseball, his college alma mater Butler University, and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. But we won't hold that last one against him. He's even served as the play-by-play voice for the wildly-popular Madden NFL video game franchise. Through that avenue, his vocal stylings have probably been heard by more people than it ever will as the on-air talent for a specific team.

The Braves newcomer has crushed it since coming on this season. His descriptions of what's happening on the field supplement the action and don't take away from it. The chemistry with his color commentators seems to be good, and he also does an incredible job of providing updates when Atlanta is stuck in a rain delay. Great job by Bally with Gaudin's hiring.

Now if only we could get more games on Bally Sports instead of all these other broadcasters like Apple TV and Peacock.