Chip Caray Is the New Joe Buck

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Every fall, die-hard baseball fans are treated to national coverage for every playoff game. We don't get to choose the announcers, and their voices become ingrained in our heads. For years, people have bemoaned the existence of Joe Buck for being insufferable, monotonous, and boring, in addition to many other not-so-redeeming traits.

But with TBS ramping up their baseball coverage this past few years, we are currently being treated to someone much more annoying than Buck: Chip Caray.

Whether or not it's true, both are accused of only getting to their lofty positions in broadcasting due to their prestigious last names. Both head up weekly national broadcasts, but don't seem to watch much baseball during the week. Again, whether or not it's fair, people are aggravated by this. Caray's not monotonous at all, but he does have the incredibly maddening habit of finishing a sentence while laughing. For example, "David Wright is a really solid (insert laughter) third baseman." I don't understand what's so funny, and that's what is so annoying.

As a Cubs fan, I watched Caray grow into the play-by-play role. He was much more endearing when he knew he wasn't a smart baseball guy. He is a play-by-play announcer by trade, which means he's not a baseball expert. It was quite refreshing to hear him ask Steve Stone to explain a play for the people at home who may not have understood certain rules or situations.

Apparently now, after all these years -- 10 -- he's an expert himself. No longer does he yield to the analyst. Now he's one package, in his own mind. It just comes across as some geeky kid who didn't make the high school baseball team, but still thinks he knows all the nuances of the game. And he beats them to death. I remember watching an Angels-Yankees broadcast during last summer when Scot Shields entered the game. Caray didn't elaborate as to why, but I believe he said the word, "nasty," at least 100 times in one inning.

I'm not sure if Chip wrote the material on his own, but his lack of in-depth baseball knowledge was exposed on TBS' lame commercials last season where he was sitting in Applebee's with some other baseball guys. You know, they were just hanging out, drinking beer -- we're normal guys! -- and talking baseball. Chip said the game was full of exciting, young talent. I agree, but his examples were Fausto Carmona and Rafael Furcal. Really? No Ryan Braun, Hanley Ramirez, Cole Hamels, or Jose Reyes? Obviously, they shot the commercials before the season started, so you can't blame the Carmona pick -- even though I'm not sure how he's so exciting -- but Furcal was 30.

All these things may seem like reaches, but that's what fans do. They complain about the announcers, and Chip Caray is about to replace Joe Buck as the most maligned play-by-play guy in baseball broadcasting. For the record, I definitely don't have a problem with Buck as a baseball announcer. I take much more issue with his partner, Tim McCarver. In case you couldn't tell from this writing, though, I really can't stand Caray. I guess he should take it as a compliment. In order to be universally hated, you have to be in a high enough position for people to care.