The tension was palpable in Houston’s ballpark, as the Oakland A’s held a tight 2-1 lead against the rival Astros. In the top of the ninth, outfielder Lawrence Butler came to the plate and absolutely demolished a pitch from reliever Hector Neris. The ball left his bat at 108.4 mph, whizzing 403 feet over the right-field seats. That was a majestic, game-sealing home run, true poetry in motion. But the broadcast call that followed was anything but poetic.

The announcer, Chris Caray, was excited initially. Then, suddenly, confusion reigned inside the broadcast booth. “That ball is … foul … or gone,” he said, calling the obvious three-run shot. There was an uncomfortable silence as the two broadcasters watched each other for a second. However, Caray’s byplay partner, Dallas Braden, quickly jumped in to save the call.

X handle ‘Awful Announcing’ immediately posted about the gaffe, with the caption, “A’s broadcaster Chris Caray may have had a bit of trouble seeing this one off the bat of Lawrence Butler. “High in the air deep to right. That ball is foul… or gone.” And, from there, the on-air blunder became a viral moment. Fans were left wondering what they just witnessed.

Instead of burying his head, though, Caray issued a sincere apology on social media. “Totally lost it in the lights. No excuses,” he wrote on X. “Unfair to Butler and our fans that I messed it up as badly as I did. This is completely and totally on me! … Wish I could have it back but that’s baseball. I apologize and will be better tomorrow.”

The glare of the public spotlight was all the brighter because of Caray’s last name. Chris is a fourth-generation Major League Baseball broadcaster. His great-grandfather is Harry Caray was the legendary voice of the Chicago Cubs. His grandfather, Skip Caray, and his father, Chip Caray, were also well-known announcers too. This amazing inheritance means both enormous opportunities and intense pressure for Caray. Any mistake by him would always be weighed against his family’s history.

But while Caray’s name brings added attention, he is not the only broadcaster to make an error on air.

Baseball and the grand tradition of announcing mistakes

The Caray family itself has quite a history of memorable on-air moments. Chris’s father, Chip, slipped and let a slur fly while he was reading a promo script just last month. On June 21, 2025, while reading a promo for the St. Louis Cardinals’ Disability Pride Night, Chip accidentally uttered a homophobic slur instead of the word “flag.” FanDuel Sports Network Midwest deemed it an “honest” mistake and did not punish him. But, there have been other moments, too.

Who can forget the infamous 2020 on-air apology by Cincinnati Reds announcer Thom Brennaman? During a Cincinnati Reds game, he uttered a homophobic slur on a live microphone, mistakenly believing he was off-air. Upon realizing his comment had been broadcast, he began an apology, only to bizarrely pivot back to play-by-play as Nick Castellanos hit a home run.

So, in the unpredictable realm of live broadcasting, even the most seasoned professionals can stumble, and the recent incident involving Chris Caray only serves as a stark reminder of this reality