Young Stefan hopes to "Caray" on family tradition of broadcasting with the Cardinals

The Caray family name is as synonymous with baseball as hot dogs, beers, and "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" are. Since 1945, there has been at least one Caray family member broadcasting America's pastime, starting with Harry Caray and the St. Louis Cardinals in 1945.

Harry would go on to be a broadcaster for the Oakland Athletics, Chicago White Sox, and most notably with the Chicago Cubs. Harry's son, Skip Caray, was a broadcaster for the Atlanta Braves from 1976 until his death. This tradition was carried on by Skip's son Chip, who broadcast with his grandfather for the Chicago Cubs starting in 1997. Chip would stay with the Cubs until 2004, when he would then move to the Braves to broadcast with his father, Skip.

Chip Caray was brought on as the Cardinals play-by-play announcer prior to the 2023 season for the St. Louis Cardinals. His joining the Cardinals brought the Caray family broadcasting tradition full circle, as Chip's grandfather started his career in St. Louis. Chip Caray has been the play-by-play broadcaster for the Cardinals since 2023, and he's now entering his fourth season with the organization.

Joining Chip this year for about a dozen games will be his own son, Stefan Caray. Both Caray men broadcast the 2025 MLB Spring Breakout Game. Before Stefan had broadcasting ambitions, he was a lacrosse player, having been recruited to play Division II lacrosse in college. He eventually transferred to the University of Georgia to start focusing on his career. With family in Atlanta, the decision to go to Georgia's College of Communication was easy for Stefan.

Stefan Caray, son of St. Louis Cardinals' broadcaster Chip Caray, to join the Cardinals' broadcast team in 2026.

Stefan's history at the mic dates back several years. He began his broadcasting career with Georgia Gwinnett College just outside Atlanta, Georgia. Gwinnett College is an NAIA school with a baseball program, and Stefan, his brother Chris, and a friend broadcast those games.

In 2022, the same year the Atlanta Braves won the World Series, Stefan met Tony Ensor, the president and general manager of the Amarillo Sod Poodles. Stefan told me that he had to leave in the middle of one of his college classes to take a call with Tony, thus beginning his semi-professional baseball broadcasting career.

"To an extent, I've had help. I've had an expedited track to the majors, but I finished as the runner up to my brother for the job in Oakland. We're fortunate to have so many supportive people, but I'm never going to be the person who didn't say I had help because I did."

"When that red light's on, it's my responsibility to do the job."

How did the process of you joining the Cardinals broadcast team begin?

Bill Cochran with the Cardinals TV production team called Stefan and wanted to bring him on board. "I was so excited and happy," said Caray. "I didn't know where I was going to end up, and I had interviewed with nine major league teams but had come up short. To get that break with the Cardinals was huge. There were a lot of things at play. I had developed a good relationship with Ed Placey on the FanDuel side. When MLB stepped in, that changed things (for me) as well."

Caray had been networking independently of his dad. He also spoke about his excitement to get to join a broadcast team that includes fantastic broadcasters such as John Rooney, Rick Horton, Jim Hayes, Tom Ackerman, and Matt Pauley. "Everybody's pulling on the same rope," said Caray of the team.

What does it mean to you to be able to continue the Caray legacy of broadcasting?

Stefan and his brother Chris are the fourth generation of Carays to be in a baseball broadcast booth. He spoke glowingly about this opportunity to carry on the family tradition.

"It means the world. I know that everybody's going to look at this as the fourth generation of Carays, but this is where it all started: 1945 with Harry at KMOX.", said Stefan. "To get to do it for my first go around is such an incredible environment and such a rich legacy of the Cardinals.

St. Louis has had a fantastic impact on his father. The Cardinals are one of the most storied teams in the National League and baseball. Stefan spoke glowingly about the fans in and around St. Louis, saying that the town lives, sleeps, eats, and breathes baseball.

What do you expect out of the Cardinals this year?

"I'm not in the business of making predictions, but I think they're going to be better than people expect. I think they'll be able to pitch it." The Cardinals are rolling out a young starting rotation made up of Matthew Liberatore, Dustin May, Michael McGreevy, Kyle Leahy, and Andre Pallante. Stefan has faith in that group to be able to pitch well this year, potentially to a 3.50 ERA. However, he worries that the offense won't measure up to the pitching staff.

Where will the offense come from? Style of play. "I'm very intrigued. Chaim Bloom is not so numbers oriented that they're not always going to do what the iPad tells them what to do," said Caray. He expects a small-ball style without a ton of power, though he was hesitant to harken back to the Whiteyball era of Cardinals baseball.

"It's going to be a quicker rebuild than people think."

Do you have a favorite player on the Cardinals?

When asked this question, Stefan answered very quickly with two names on the offensive side of the game: outfielder Nathan Church and catcher Yohel Pozo.

"I've loved his game for years. I like his defensive acumen, his speed, and his bat-to-ball skills," said Caray of Church. "I thoroughly enjoy watching his ability to be versatile." Church can capably play all three outfield spots, and he's an athletic outfielder with a cannon for an arm.

"(Yohel Pozo's) story is incredible. He's so easy to root for," When you have a bunch of prospect catchers in your system, you could have said Jimmy Crooks or Leo Bernal is coming up, but Yohel Pozo has made such a good impression on the organization that he stays.

You and your dad have called a few MLB games together including last year's spring breakout game and on September 3rd with your brother in the rival booth. How would you describe this family affair?

"It's awesome to share a booth (with my family)," Caray said. "I sleep under a picture of my dad, my grandpa, and my great-grandpa with their microphones at Wrigley Field calling a game together in 1991. The Cardinals and the Athletics helped make that dream a reality in September."

Stefan wasn't in the booth for the entire game in September, making a cameo for just a couple of innings. However, he loved the moment that he was able to share with his brother and dad. "My brother sprinted into the booth right after my first inning just as excited, if not more excited, than I was. Having your family do this for as long as we have, there's a commodity that's never lacking in my family and that's love."

Stefan spoke frequently about his family's closeness; the Caray bunch hold family and love in high regard. Since his dad was always broadcasting baseball, finding time together in the summers was challenging. His mom had to shoulder most of the load during his childhood.

"My mom is an incredibly independent person. She and my maternal grandparents gave us as normal of a life as they could, and it's that connectivity that we're able to have and sustain that speaks to the effort that everyone in my family has made to understand each other."

Do you have a favorite call of your dad's, grandfather's, or great grandfather's?

Harry, Skip, and Chip Caray are known for rising to the occasion when it comes to big moments in a game. While most of a broadcaster's job is filling in down time during a baseball game, broadcasters throughout history are most known for individual calls that may last just 15 seconds. Stefan noted that three of his favorite calls would be Chip, his dad, calling Jason Heyward's debut and Kerry Wood's 20-strikeout game. He also talked about his brother calling Nick Kurtz's four home run game last year.

"As a broadcaster you're always defined by the big moments, and I think that's one thing my family has done well in this industry. The game is not about you, but you get the chance to tie it all together. You want to dominate that 15-second highlight and rise to the occasion of the moment. I would argue that there's nobody better in the game at that than my dad."

Stefan recognizes that there may be some out there who say he got his job due to his family name. "It's difficult to get on the golf course and instead of getting to hit off the tee, they say your ball is in the hazard. That's how a lot of the relationships in this industry have started," said Caray of nepotism claims. "I've gotten to show them that I'm not Chip Caray's lap dog. I'm Stefan, and I have my own unique qualities."