We have two interesting moves in broadcast booths for 2022: Sam Levitt, our MiLB Broadcaster of the Year, gets called to the majors by the San Diego Padres, to be replaced by Chris and Stefan Caray with the Amarillo Sod Poodles (Class AA; Texas League).
Levitt joins the Padres and 97.3 The Fan to anchor pre- and post-game coverage on the Fan and the Padres Radio Network. “Since I started broadcasting baseball as a college student and throughout my time in the minors, it’s remained my goal to be part of a Major League broadcast team,” Levitt said via press release. “I’m extremely grateful to both 97.3 The Fan and the Padres organization for believing in me. I look forward to covering a team that has World Series aspirations, while interacting with San Diego’s outstanding fanbase on radio, social media and beyond.”
You can read about Levitt’s 2021 Broadcaster of the Year Award here, along with an interview with Ballpark Digest’s Jesse Goldberg-Strassler and Kevin Reichard.
Replacing Levitt with the Sod Poodles: identical twins Chris and Stefan Caray, the great-grandchildren of Hall of Fame broadcaster Harry Caray and the first set of identical twins to broadcast professional baseball games together. It’s an intriguing move: the pair will be joining the Sod Poodles right out of college.
“To step into a professional radio booth and call baseball games is a dream come true,” said Chris via press release. “To join my identical twin brother, Stefan, in this new adventure is incredibly exciting for us and our family. The Amarillo Sod Poodles have consistently delivered one of, if not the best broadcasts and production in all Minor League Baseball. We are humbled and honored to become the second broadcasters in team history and we can’t wait to bring our style of broadcasting and entertainment to the Amarillo community and fans.”
“We were college seniors at the University of Georgia when this week started,” said Stefan via press release. “To be given an opportunity to broadcast alongside my brother once again, especially for an organization like Amarillo, is an incredible honor and one we weren’t sure would ever happen again.”
The pair spent this past summer calling games together for the Cotuit Kettleers of the summer-collegiate Cape Cod Baseball League. And the Caray broadcasting empire expands; their grandfather, Skip, was a long-time play-by-play announcer for the Atlanta Braves. Chip Caray, the twins’ dad, broadcast games for the Atlanta Braves for the past 12 years for Bally Sports South and Bally Sports Southeast. Chris and Stefan’s uncle, Josh Caray, is the current radio voice of the Rocket City Trash Pandas (Class AA; Southern League. In all, the Caray family has more than 120 years of professional baseball broadcasting experience combined.
“We are so excited for this next chapter of Sod Poodles baseball and broadcast,” said Tony Ensor, President and General Manager of the Sod Poodles. “We feel like the historic pairing of Chris and Stefan are going to help us build off the success and one-of-a-kind fan experience we’ve provided since 2019. Our Sod Poodles broadcast is a top 5 broadcast in the country, and we knew we wanted to continue to evolve and use our previous success and take it to the next level. Chris and Stefan certainly fit that bill. Their unique style and knowledge of the game along with being the next generation of the most legendary baseball broadcast family made this the only move for our organization and fans. We can’t wait to introduce them to our community next week and every night during the 2022 season.”