ATLANTA (Aug. 4) - Skip Caray, a voice of the Atlanta Braves for 33 years and part of a family line of baseball broadcasters that included Hall of Famer Harry Caray, died in his sleep at home on Sunday, the team said. He was 68.
The cause of death was not immediately known, but various health problems had limited Caray to calling only Braves home games this season.
"We've all lost a very good friend," Braves manager Bobby Cox said. "For me, he was a good buddy - at the park and away from the park. We always had a lot of great laughs. He will be very sorely missed."
Caray was drawn into broadcasting by his father, Harry, the longtime voice of the Chicago Cubs and a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

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Having been a Cubs fan since prior to Harry's days I grew quite fond of the Carays (sans Chip). Skip was a true professional - one from the old school - and Bobby Cox is 100% correct in saying he'll be missed, both by insiders and fans alike. You can always tell when a particular announcer is liked by his peers, and Skip appears to have been one of the most universally respected and well-liked in the game.

As a fan it's always sad to see an honest, talented announcer pass. Far too often smarmy dolts like Joe Buck (whose "apple" seems to have been catapulted from the "tree") and the horrifically unintelligible and wholly vapid Tim McCarver are given WAY too much airtime while guys like Skip - known for their brutally honest assessments especially of their home teams (when they deserve it) - are inexplicably relegated to local broadcasting.

It's too bad the Braves are so banged up otherwise if it were possible it'd be nice to see them pull out a good season in his honor.