Pete Van Wieren Retires
Written by Colin on October 21, 2008 – 10:38 amIt’s with regret that we move into a new era of Braves radio announcers. Skip passed away earlier this year. Now, we won’t get any more of his partner, Pete Van Wieren, either.
Van Wieren announced his retirement today after 33 seasons as a Braves announcer. Pete is in good health and wants to take more time to spend with his family. For the past two years, Pete served as the play-by-play announcer for every game played.
I don’t know about you guys, but listening to the Braves isn’t going to be the same next season. When Skip died I thought I’d get by on Pete and Chip, or some other combination, but this is a lot of change at once. Sure, watching the games won’t change, and TV won’t be affected THAT much, but the radio coverage of the game will be changed… Not just will we not have the award winning Bobby Cox show and color commentary, but we’ll miss Pete’s excellent play-by-play announcing.
Pete, take care, good buddy. Come back every now and then so we can get a taste. And at least show up opening day to wave goodbye. This community really appreciates your contribution to the Braves and your dedication and recognizable voice will be missed.
Tags: announcer, Pete Van Wieren, Radio announcers, Skip Caray
Posted in General | 3 Comments »
By FiSH on Feb 2, 2009 | Reply
A well deserved retirement for one of the best in the biz. It will definitely be different not hearing them this year but luckily Pete is going out on his own terms and for good reason. Hopefully he has a long happy retirement spent with family and friends. And who knows, I wouldn't put it past him to pop in for a game or two next year.
So long Pete!
By PapaGLP on Feb 2, 2009 | Reply
It will definitely be strange to not have Pete calling the games next year, but I'm glad he's leaving for all the right reasons. He's been a great asset to the Braves for quite some time, and it's not quite the same without Skip and Pete, but I bet we'll definitely see Pete here and there in the upcoming years.
By SportsBunch.com on Feb 2, 2009 | Reply
One of the best pitchers of all time!