Sutton's anticipated homecoming became a reality Tuesday, when the Braves officially announced Sutton was the latest member of their new radio broadcast team. Jim Powell was hired last week to serve as his partner.

"It's nice to be wanted and nice to know that I'll once again be part of that great history that I enjoyed so much when I was there before," said Sutton, who spent the first 18 years (1989-2006) of his broadcasting career with the Braves.

Because Sutton had two years remaining on a four-year contract with the Nationals and Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, the Braves had to wait patiently until both parties released him from his obligation.

While Nationals president Stan Kasten provided an early blessing, MASN delayed the process until late Tuesday morning, when they announced Rob Dibble as Sutton's replacement.

Wanting to find a familiar figure to help fill the voids created by Pete Van Wieren's retirement and Skip Caray's death, the Braves began targeting Sutton in early December.

"We are truly happy to have Don back in our broadcasting booth," said Derek Schiller, the Braves' executive director of sales and marketing. "We think [Sutton and Powell] can continue the great broadcasting tradition here at the Braves."

While appreciative of the opportunity to experience this homecoming, Sutton wishes it came under different circumstances.

"All of us shed a tear when Skip [Caray] passed away," Sutton said in reference to Caray's death last August. "He left a hole in the Braves' organization and in the broadcasting world that won't be filled."

As for Van Wieren, Sutton considers him to have been "the greatest play-by play man in America" and a tutor that he'll forever appreciate.

"I spent more time, 18 years, with the Braves than I did with anybody else in my life," Sutton said. "My family and I shared so many great memories while I was there."

While Sutton didn't record any of his 324 career wins while wearing a Braves uniform, he did gain induction into the Hall of Fame while a member of the Braves family. In addition during his previous time in Atlanta, he married his wife, Mary, and experienced the birth of their daughter, Jacqueline, while he was a broadcaster with the club.

At 12, Jacqueline possesses a knowledge and passion for baseball that exceeds most children her age. Her father's return to Atlanta will allow her to reunite with some of her favorite players, Chipper Jones and Jeff Francoeur, and replace her "Nationals" attire with Braves shirts that she wore in the past.

While the his family is definitely looking forward to this return to the Braves, Sutton made it clear that he enjoyed the two seasons that he spent with the Nationals. Along with watching that organization attempt to improve, the Hall of Fame hurler enjoyed the rich history that Washington D.C. provided.

It's safe to say, while in Atlanta, he's less likely to once again have the opportunity to sit down and have dinner with the President of the United States.

"Being with the Nationals and in Washington D.C. was a wonderful experience," Sutton said. "The Nationals are doing it right and they're moving in the right direction. I'm not running away. I'm just taking advantage of an opportunity."

Three other teams were turned away when they expressed interest in Sutton this winter. The only way he was going to be lured away from the Nationals was if the Braves or Dodgers, who employed him for 16 seasons of his playing career, came calling.

With the Braves providing this opportunity, Sutton is looking forward to the opportunity to reconnect with the fans who saw and listened to him blossom as a broadcaster.

At the same time, he's looking forward to beginning a working relationship with Powell, who worked alongside Sutton's son, Darren Sutton, while they were members of the Brewers broadcast team.

"It's going to be a lot of fun," Sutton said.