Jason Benetti | |
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.png) Benetti atGuaranteed Rate Field in 2017 | |
| Born | Jason Robert Benetti (1983-09-09)September 9, 1983 (age 42) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Alma mater | |
| Sports commentary career | |
| Teams |
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| Genre | Play-by-play |
| Sport | Major League Baseball |
| Employer |
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Jason Robert Benetti (born September 9, 1983)[1][2] is an American sportscaster. He is the primary television play-by-play announcer for theDetroit Tigers ofMajor League Baseball onFanDuel Sports Network.[3]
From 2016 to 2023, Benetti was the lead play-by-play announcer forChicago White Sox of MLB, and served as an alternate play-by-play announcer forChicago Bulls of theNational Basketball Association, onNBC Sports Chicago.[4] Now primarily contracted withFox Sports nationally, Benetti was formerly the main announcer forESPN'salternate "StatCast" telecasts, and additionally has worked forNBC Sports,Westwood One, andTime Warner coveringfootball, baseball,lacrosse,hockey, andbasketball.
Benetti was born ten weeks prematurely at theUniversity of Chicago Hospital, where he remained for the first three months of his life.[2] While in intensive care, Benetti developed a respiratory illness that deprived his blood of oxygen; this may have caused hiscerebral palsy, which was diagnosed when he was a toddler. Benetti underwent years of physical therapy and two surgeries to improve his ability to walk.[5][6]
Benetti grew up a few miles south ofChicago inHomewood, Illinois,[7] and graduated from theHomewood-Flossmoor High School in 2001. He ran the school'sNCAA tournament pool and joined the school's radio station,WHFH (88.5) as a regular disc jockey and play-by-play announcer for Vikings sports coverage.[8] Benetti's cerebral palsy prevented him from playing tuba during marching band season. Not wanting to exclude him, the band director asked him to serve as the halftime broadcaster for their marching events.[9]
Benetti attendedS. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications atSyracuse University and graduated in 2005 with bachelor's degrees in broadcast journalism, economics and psychology.[10][11] At Syracuse, he worked atWAER-FM and WJPZ FM where he calledSyracuse Orange lacrosse and women's basketball.[12]
After graduating from Syracuse, Benetti enrolled atWake Forest University School of Law, where he earned aJuris Doctor degree in 2011.[11]
During law school, Benetti acted as the voice ofHigh Point Panthers basketball games,Syracuse Chiefs baseball games,[10] and high school sports forTime Warner Cable Sports Channel.[5][13] He also worked in roles withFox Sports 1,Westwood One,Big East Conference,IMG College,Salem Avalanche, andDePaul University.[11]
Benetti served as an intern for Chicago sports radio stationWSCR. In 2011 Benetti joined ESPN,[9] where his broadcasting career would move him into television, despite his childhood preference for radio-only broadcasting.[5] Benetti would call select college basketball games for theESPN3 online service, and then move on toESPN2 andESPNU. In 2013 Benetti called his first football game for ESPN's syndicatedAmerican Athletic Conference package.
In 2020, Benetti signed a multi-year extension with ESPN, and during that year calledKBO League games remotely for the network due to theCOVID-19-induced delay of the 2020 Major League Baseball season.[14]
Beginning with the 2016 season, Benetti replaced recently retired Hall of fame broadcasterKen Harrelson as the television play-by-play announcer for selectChicago White Sox home and road games, where he would be paired withSteve Stone.[7][6] In May 2017, the White Sox announced Benetti would take over full-time play-by-play duties in 2019 upon Harrelson's retirement. During their time together, Benetti and Stone were highly regarded by fans and were regularly ranked among the league's best broadcasting duos.[15]
After the 2023 season, Benetti left the White Sox, citing a disrespectful remark from the team's chief revenue and marketing officer Brooks Boyer as an example of his strained relationship with the team's front office.[16] In addition, Benetti speculated that the White Sox preferred a more traditional broadcasting voice rather than his looser, playful style.[17]
In the first year after Benetti's departure, the White Sox booth plummeted from 6th to 30th in booth rankings conducted by Awful Announcing.[18]
In November 2023, Benetti was named as the principal play-by-play announcer forDetroit Tigers telecasts onBally Sports Detroit beginning in the 2024 season. Benetti said one of his motivations for joining the Tigers was "finding the people who really want you for you," in contrast to his previous employer, the Chicago White Sox.[17] Though he appears on Bally telecasts, Benetti is directly employed by the Tigers.[19][20] In Benetti's first season with the Tigers, the broadcast booth jumped from being ranked 30th the year prior to being ranked 10th in 2024 in the annual ranking conducted by Awful Announcing.[21]
Benetti also co-hosts the interview-style podcastHave a Seat with Tigers radio announcerDan Dickerson.[22]
In 2021, Benetti was named as play-by-play announcer forNBC's coverage ofbaseball at the2020 Summer Olympics.[23][24]
On April 26, 2022, it was reported that Benetti would serve as the lead play-by-play announcer for the new NBC Sports-producedMLB Sunday Leadoff games forPeacock, joined by rotating analysts representing the teams in each game.[25]
In August 2022, Benetti moved toFox Sports and does play by play for Fox's coverage of college football and basketball, as well as Major League Baseball.[26][27] Even after the move, he continued calling games for NBC Sports Chicago.[28]
In week 17 and 18 of the2022 NFL season, Benetti would work his first games for theNFL on Fox, doing play-by-play as theArizona Cardinals visited theAtlanta Falcons to start, followed by theCarolina Panthers against theNew Orleans Saints in week 18 and filled-in forBrandon Gaudin, who filled-in forWayne Larrivee on theGreen Bay Packers radio network.[29]
Benetti works with the CHAT ("Communication Hope through Assistive Technology") Camp at Syracuse University'sBurton Blatt Institute.[11][30] At Syracuse's Newhouse School, he taught sports broadcasting as an adjunct professor.[11]
Benetti is part of the Cerebral Palsy Foundation's "Just Say Hi" campaign.[7]
Candidates for the Juris Doctor Degree...Jason Robert Benetti...Homewood, IL.
...1983...Sept. 9, Jason Benetti was born...
| Preceded by Bob Costas (in2000) | Lead play-by-play announcer, Major League Baseball on NBC 2022 | Succeeded by |