After a few years of having to listen to calls from the boring, monotone calls of former announcer Matt Shepard, the Detroit Tigers made arguably their biggest hire to date for the team’s broadcast booth.
Confirmed by the team’s X (Twitter) account, the Tigers have signed on highly-touted regional/national sports annoucner Jason Benetti to a multi-year contract.
Prior to his move to the Motor City, Benetti called on games for Tigers division rival and hometown team, the Chicago White Sox. Along with his past tenure at ESPN, he is currently calling games nationally for Fox Sports and on Peacock in a variety of sports: such as baseball, football, and basketball.
The hiring of Benetti is a major upgrade over former announcer Matt Shepard, and it is also a feel good story as well. Down below is a brief YouTube interview of Jason’s life journey as he ascended through the ranks of broadcasting, despite dealing with the shortcomings of cerebral palsy.
Per team beat writers Evan Petzvold and Evan Woodbery, Benetti will be calling a minimum of 127 games throughout the season starting in 2024. When he is gone to do national broadcasts, Detroit Tigers radio play-by-play announcer Dan Dickerson is expected to fill in for him.
**Original Photo Courtesy: Fox 32 Chicago**
