In January, Bally Sports Midwest officially announced the hiring of Chip Caray as the new play-by-play broadcaster for the St. Louis Cardinals. It was the culmination of a long process that saw a lot of big names get bandied about before the franchise eventually snagged Caray away from the Atlanta Braves.
Another potential candidate for the role was Seattle Mariners TV broadcaster Aaron Goldsmith, who is currently in his 11th season with the team.
Corey Brock profiled Goldsmith in a recent piece for The Athletic, and it’s a great read on the road that the play-by-play announcer took to get where he is. In it, Goldsmith also shares the details of how he was in the running for that Cardinals job and explains why he took his name out of the running.
This offseason, the Cardinals made a strong run at Aaron Goldsmith to fill their television announcer opening.
It was a more lucrative deal and a potential return home for Goldsmith, who spent his childhood in St. Louis.
So why did he stay in Seattle?https://t.co/nvcIVtOfUz
— The Athletic MLB (@TheAthleticMLB) June 1, 2023
On paper, it would have made a lot of sense for Goldsmith to take the job. There’s a lot of history that comes with being the St. Louis Cardinals announcer and there was probably more money in it as well. Not to mention that he spent his childhood in St. Louis, a potential prerequisite that many of the Cardinals faithful would prefer. It was even said that he was the team’s top choice.
“Once it became clear the Cardinals’ job would be available, I knew I would be a candidate based on my experience, age, and background. The strange thing was that I initially didn’t give it much thought,” Goldsmith said.
BALLGAME. OVER. pic.twitter.com/ZOGWmMfpba
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) May 28, 2023
Goldsmith interviewed for the job in January but said that even though everything looked good, it just didn’t seem to be clicking.
“When I got on the plane and flew back home, the whole flight I just thought about where I saw myself and saw my family living the next 30-plus years,” Goldsmith said. “And it scared me that I did not have an immediate answer to that. I wondered, ‘Why am I not red-hot about this job?’”
Ultimately, the money and prestige couldn’t offset the comfort and quality of life he and his family found in Seattle.
“What I quickly discovered is that I had found my home. This (Seattle) has become my home. It is all my children know. When I think of home, this is where I feel the most comfortable and at the most peace,” Goldsmith said. “We could have had a very nice home in St. Louis, sent our kids to private school, and driven nice cars and all that stuff. But I never wanted to tell my children that I moved them halfway across the country because of ego or money. I can’t think of two worse reasons to make a decision on anything.”
Goldy withdrew his name from consideration and the rest is history. Seattle Mariners fans are pretty happy to hear it.
[The Athletic] Image Credit: Seattle Mariners
