The Chicago Cubs vs. St. Louis Cardinals game was rained out on Friday, meaning Joe Buck won’t be able to see the game on Saturday night.
ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” return to baseball coverage was rained out on Friday and the Cardinals’ home game, scheduled to be played July 13 as part of a doubleheader in St. Louis, was postponed due to inclement weather.
The broadcast on Bally Sports Midwest featured Buck teaming up with Chip Caray to re-create Cubs and Cardinals history. Buck is the son of longtime Cardinals radio announcer Jack Buck, and Caray is the grandson of beloved Cubs announcer Harry Caray.
Buck jokingly pretended to shed tears after the end of the game was announced, suggested they try the tactic again (football season is still a few months away), and claimed he had a feeling this was going to happen.
“I wanted to play a game tonight, but maybe we’ll play another time. I swear, I [Bally Sports executive producer] Larry Mago and I were putting all this together and I got off the phone and thought, ‘What could happen that night is rain.’ And what happened tonight was rain.”
Caillat saw a silver lining: Buck doesn’t have to worry about getting his 6-year-old twin sons to bed. Buck agreed, saying of his wife, Michelle, “I hope she puts them to bed.”
The night was a nostalgic look into baseball and broadcasting’s past, but fans will likely appreciate it whether the game is played or not.
While Buck was nihilistic about the situation, he made it clear he was happy to be on the baseball field.
“It’s good to be back. Maybe I’ll play a game, maybe I won’t. All I know is that I enjoyed every minute of it during the rain stop, sitting here and reflecting on all the new things that happened in baseball in the two years I was away. And now I’m really ready to play a game and there’s no game. Oh well. That’s how it is. That’s how life is.”
It’s been two years since Buck left Fox Sports for ESPN, which poached his football play-by-play partner Troy Aikman. The move meant Buck left his job as Fox’s baseball play-by-play announcer opposite John Smoltz. Buck hasn’t called a baseball game since. Fox replaced Buck with Los Angeles Dodgers play-by-play announcer Joe Davis, who has been an upgrade for many fans so far.
Whether Buck will return to the booth remains to be seen, but for now his biggest enemy is Mother Nature.
