Lawrence Butler’s Home Run Sparks Unforgettable On-Air Blunder During A’s Broadcast
Right from the crack of the bat, Athletics outfielder Lawrence Butler was absolutely sure he’d sent it over the fence. But shockingly, the home run call came up short—at least at first. During the ninth inning of Oakland’s commanding 5-1 triumph against the Houston Astros this past Saturday, play-by-play announcer Chris Caray stunned listeners by initially declaring Butler’s towering hit a foul ball—only to backtrack seconds later. That moment? One of the season’s most cringeworthy broadcasting flubs. And just when you thought it couldn’t get any messier, A’s color commentator Dallas Braden chimed in, marveling at how effortlessly Butler crushed that baseball—yet Caray hadn’t lost the ball sight line; this clash unfolded nearly 100 feet away from the right-field foul pole. It was a spectacle blending athletic prowess with broadcasting mayhem, all under the bright Daikin Park lights. Caray, representing the fourth generation of the Caray legendary baseball broadcasting lineage, later owned up on social media, candidly explaining he lost track of the ball and issued an apology to Butler and the fans. Given his heritage—a true broadcasting dynasty—and his rise through the ranks from Georgia graduate to NBC Sports Bay Area’s voice for the A’s, this rare slip certainly caught everyone off guard. But hey, in sports and broadcasting, even the pros stumble sometimes.
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