After the end of the 2022 season, the St. Louis Cardinals came into the offseason with the expectation of not having to find a new play-by-play announcer.
That all changed when Dan McLaughlin, their broadcaster for 24 years, was arrested and charged with his third DWI offense, which resulted in him and Bally Sports Midwest ultimately agreeing to part ways.
The search ended on Monday when the Cardinals hired veteran broadcaster Chip Caray to take over for McLaughlin.
Geez was given the job after Seattle Mariners radio announcer and St. Louis native Aaron Goldsmith took his name out of the running.
According to Bob Nightengale, Caray was always the Cardinals’ No. 1 choice as McLaughlin’s successor.
Chip Caray was the #STLCards‘ No. 1 broadcasting choice all along, and now they have him returning home. https://t.co/3ceVYR8oz9
—Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) January 23, 2023
And it’s easy to see why.
Geez comes from a long line of talented broadcasters.
He and his father Skip called games together with the Atlanta Braves until Skip’s passing.
He is also the grandson of legendary Cardinals announcer Harry Caray and is a native of St. Louis.
The 57-year-old got his start back in 1989 covering the NBA’s Orlando Magic.
He had three separate stints in the Braves broadcast booth and also spent time calling games for the Mariners, as well as the Chicago Cubs.
Caray even served as a lead announcer on FOX Sports and TBS.
But his lineage made him a clear choice for the Cardinals as next man for the job.
He also joins a list of legendary Cardinals broadcasters that includes the great Jack Buck and former World Series champion Mike Shannon.