Broadcasting has always been in the Caray family, so it seemed only fitting that Josh Caray would continue the same path as his grandfather, father and brother, even if it — according to Josh Caray — took a little longer to figure out. 

“I started in broadcasting at 25 years old,” he said. “I started late, because I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do broadcasting. But I received an opportunity to call games for the Rome Braves, fell in love with the sportscasting lifestyle, and it all went from there.”

Despite his family’s history in broadcasting, he admits he didn’t get into the business because of them, it was the organizational and community aspect of it.

“My grandfather didn’t really influence me,” Caray said. “My dad almost drove me away from broadcasting, because there were a lot of things about sportscasting he didn’t like, especially the political aspect of it. As a result, I have chosen to stay committed to local broadcasting. I like being a part of an organization, a community. I prefer that over the network gigs that my dad and grandpa had, even if the money isn’t as great.”

His grandfather, Harry Caray, a legendary broadcaster in Major League Baseball, most notably with the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs, spanned a 53-year career in the booth. Skip Caray, Josh Caray’s dad, is best known for his long career as a radio and television broadcaster for the Atlanta Braves. 

And brother Chip Caray worked as the play-by-play man for the Chicago Cubs from 1998-2004 and the Atlanta Braves from 2005-2009, along with many other broadcasting positions within baseball throughout his career. He currently holds the position as a television broadcaster for Fox Sports South’s and Fox Sports Southeast’s coverage of the Braves and the Southeastern Conference.

Josh Caray was hired as the play-by-play man for the Rocket City Trash Pandas in May 2019. His other duties within the organization include advertising for the Trash Pandas and hosting a podcast titled “The Josh Caray Show.”

Outside of the baseball diamond, Josh Caray holds and has held many jobs in the sportscasting landscape.

“Currently, I do freelance work for Alabama Soccer and Volleyball on SEC Network+. Before that, I was the football and men’s basketball radio voice for Stony Brook University on Long Island from 2015-19,” he said. “I did football and basketball for one season at Birmingham-Southern University. I also have done fill-in work for UT-Chattanooga Basketball, and Presbyterian Football and Basketball.” 

The inaugural season for the Trash Pandas was scheduled to begin in April 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced it to be pushed back until 2021. Caray said he’s excited to get baseball back up and running. 

“What I’m most excited about is getting the players on the field, seeing the fans in the stadium and getting society back to ‘normal,’” he said. “Allowing the players to follow their dreams excites me. The fact that my colleagues have a job to go to — and one they love to do, no less — excites me. And the fact that we are giving our community an outlet other than Netflix and giving North Alabama professional baseball again also excites me.”

Nothing has been set in stone regarding having fans at Toyota Field this year as that will be determined later, but everything seems to be on pace to start on time.

“As far as I can tell from the numbers, it appears we are on track to a May 4 Opening Day at Chattanooga and a May 11 start date at Toyota Field,” Caray said.