DUTCHESS COUNTY, N.Y. --- Baseball fans might not know the face or the voice of the new Hudson Valley Renegades broadcaster, but some should recognize the name: Josh Caray.
This is Caray’s first season calling games for the Renegades, but he comes from a long line of broadcasters.
"My grandfather is Harry Caray, the late Chicago Cubs broadcaster [who] was part of it for 53 years with the Cubs, White Sox, A’s and Cardinals," Caray said.
Caray’s father, the late Skip Caray, and brother Chip Caray also followed their grandfather into the booth, as they called games for the Atlanta Braves. Caray says his love for baseball and broadcasting started from watching his grandfather at a young age.
"He breathed and died Cubbie blue, and just to be around that and next to him, I learned that no matter how good or bad your team is, you have to have passion and you have to care," Caray said. "I like to think that I bring that to every one of my broadcasts."
Caray says he's learned a lot from his family over the years about the essential tools to broadcast a professional-league game.
"First of all, you gotta do more than just do numbers," Caray said. "If you are a great storyteller, especially in a pastoral game like baseball, you can really keep the crowd engaged."
Josh says the Caray name can be a bit overwhelming at times, but he says the tools he’s learned from his family are to have passion and to make sure all the games he calls are a different experience for the fans.
"Just be yourself," he said. "Continue to do what you do, and just know that you can’t really pretend to be anyone; you can only be yourself, and if you try to be yourself, you’re probably gonna fail, so just be you."
He says although he comes from a famous broadcasting family, he knew from a young age that he needed more than just a name.
"I was level-headed, and realizing this is a hard industry, you’re not going to be granted a whole lot, so you gotta work hard and you gotta be grateful for any little thing you get,” Caray said.
Caray announces for the Stony Brook University Seawolves as well, but you can catch Josh broadcasting for the Hudson Valley Renegades through Labor Day.