Jason Benetti left the Chicago White Sox and joined the Detroit Tigers. The White Sox then recorded the worst record in the modern era for a baseball team. The Tigers, meanwhile, made an unexpected run to the playoffs — clinching their spot against the White Sox themselves, a moment Benetti described as a "funny full circle sort of thing."
Benetti grew up in Chicago and, as a third grader, wrote an essay declaring he wanted to be the announcer for the White Sox — a dream he eventually lived out for real. He spent years as the play-by-play voice of the team before ultimately making the move to the Detroit Tigers.
The timing turned into one of baseball's stranger ironies. After his departure, the White Sox collapsed to a record-breaking low — the worst in the modern era. The team Benetti had called for years became historic for all the wrong reasons, just after he walked out the door.
The story didn't end there. The Tigers, Benetti's new team, made an unexpected playoff push. When they clinched their postseason berth, it was against the Chicago White Sox. Benetti found himself on the call for the moment that officially ended his old team's season.
He acknowledged the strange poetry of it openly — a Chicago kid who once dreamed of calling White Sox games, now calling the game that knocked them out. In 2026, he went even further, becoming the national play-by-play voice of Sunday Night Baseball on NBC, bringing his career full circle on the biggest stage in the sport.
"As somebody with a mild case of cerebral palsy, the marching with the tuba that I selected as my instrument was a horrendous idea."
Jason Benetti — Play-by-play announcer, Sunday Night Baseball, NBC.
Benetti grew up in Chicago and began his broadcasting career at Syracuse University's student radio station in 2003, where famous sportscasters including Bob Costas, Marv Albert, and Sean McDonough had all come through before him. His path to the microphone started unexpectedly in high school: his mild cerebral palsy made marching in the band impractical, so his band director put him behind a mic to announce the band's set instead. He went on to call Chicago White Sox games for many years, then moved to the Detroit Tigers, and in 2026 became the play-by-play voice of NBC's Sunday Night Baseball.
Benetti was called to do play-by-play and post-production from a studio for the National Electrician's Championships. His analyst was Scott Karen — a long way from the baseball diamond.
The student radio station at Syracuse University — where famous sportscasters like Bob Costas, Marv Albert, and Sean McDonough came through — was an NPR station. It's where Benetti first went on air in 2003.
Benetti has a mild case of cerebral palsy, which made marching in the band impractical. After struggling with the tuba on the field, his band director put him behind a microphone to announce the band's set — and a broadcaster was born.
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