Tim McCarver to retire as broadcaster after the 2013 season

http://blogs.mcall.com/groller/

FROM KEITH GROLLER

Fox Sports staged a surprise teleconference on Wednesday to announce that Tim McCarver will retire as a broadcaster after the 2013 season.

The former Cardinals and Phillies catcher has been in a network broadcast booth since 1984 after getting his start in the early 1980s working with the Phillies TV gang on PRISM which then included Harry Kalas and Richie Ashburn.

McCarver, whose uninterrupted run as a major league player and broadcaster began in 1959, has worked 28 consecutive MLB postseasons on network television dating back to 1984, providing analysis for a record 23 World Series and 20 All-Star Games. 

“I’ve informed FOX Sports that I will not seek to extend my contract to broadcast baseball past the 2013 season,” said McCarver.  “Although I am neither tired of broadcasting baseball nor have I in any way lost my interest in baseball, with which I have been associated as a player and broadcaster for 55 years, it’s time to cut back.

"Since 1996, my time with Joe Buck has been filled with some of the most memorable moments in the game’s magnificent history. I am very proud to have been a part of all the things that make this game so special for all of us who follow it day-to-day, week-to-week and year-to-year. Finally, to the gifted men and women at FOX with whom I’ve worked with over the last 17 years, your work has been exemplary and unmatched. You’re the best in the business and it has been a privilege.”

"It was my great fortune to be paired with Tim as a kid back in 1996," said Buck.  “It gave me instant credibility and helped shaped my career.  Tim is the best ever to do what he does, the ultimate professional and the best first-guesser in the history of this business.  I have always been proud to call him my partner, and I’m prouder still to call him my friend.  I will be forever grateful to him for both parts of our relationship, and I’m going to miss him next year."

Commissioner Bud Selig said: "Tim McCarver has chronicled the national pastime on our biggest stages, including a record 23 World Series and 20 All-Star Games, for a generation of baseball fans. As an analyst, he has always thought like a manager in the dugout, and in the process he helped redefine what sports fans expected from the broadcast booth.  Tim has led a remarkable baseball life since signing with the Cardinals in 1959, and all of us at Major League Baseball look forward to joining our partners at FOX Sports in honoring his Hall of Fame career throughout the 2013 season.  On behalf of our 30 clubs, I thank Tim for his important contributions to our game over the past seven decades.”