Oakland Athletics outfielder Lawrence Butler felt certain it was a dinger the instant he made contact. A’s commentator Chris Caray held a contrasting viewpoint, strikingly so.
Butler’s round-tripper during the concluding frame of a 5-1 triumph against the Houston Astros last Saturday yielded one of the more peculiar instances encountered on any MLB broadcast this year, with Caray initially declaring it a foul ball, swiftly amending his assessment shortly thereafter.
It took a turn when A’s analyst Dallas Braden began showering praises upon the substantial impact Butler imparted to the sphere. Caray’s misjudgment wasn’t due to tracking the ball along the boundary; rather, it landed roughly 100 feet from the right-field foul marker.
The broadcast:
Caray: “Soaring into the sky, extending towards right field. That sphere veers… foul. [Silence] Or perhaps, it’s gone!”
Braden: “That sphere received an absolute walloping. Law Dog assuming a pose at the plate. He recognized it instantly, the only query being its flight distance. He knew he connected powerfully, and the expression from Cam Smith, I believe, captures the enormity of the hit.”
Caray elucidated the circumstances post-game, communicating via social platforms that he misplaced sight of the ball within the Daikin Park illumination. He conveyed his regret to Butler and the audience.
Representing the fourth lineage of the Caray broadcasting heritage, Chris is the offspring of St. Louis Cardinals broadcaster Chip Caray, the grandchild of former Atlanta Braves broadcaster Skip Caray, and the great-grandchild of the celebrated Harry Caray.
He’s presently in his sophomore year as the play-by-play voice for the A’s at NBC Sports Bay Area, accompanying the squad in its relocation from Oakland. Preceding this, he completed his studies at Georgia in 2022 and gained experience as a broadcaster for the Double-A Amarillo Sod Poodles and the Arizona Fall League.
