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Jason Benetti lands plenty of jabs, sounds like right person for job in Detroit Tigers debut
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- Jason Benetti lands plenty of jabs, sounds like right person for job in Detroit Tigers debut
LAKELAND, Fla. — Shortly before Jason Benetti made his debut as the Detroit Tigers' play-by-play announcer for Bally Sports Detroit on Monday, a veteran Detroit broadcaster said something to me about the reason he was here instead of Matt Shepard.
"It's like they say in boxing," he said. "Styles make fights."
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I never really understood why Shepard was fired in October after five years , nor did I agree with it. Maybe he wasn't folksy enough or sounded enough like "a baseball guy," delivering the game in just the right cadence and timber for the right people. If nothing else, he was prepared, professional and informative.
But I get it. I grew up listening to Vin Scully, who was the quintessence of folksy, baseball announcer. He sounded like your favorite uncle came over to your house to tell you "the story of the Dodgers vs. Giants," and people loved him for it.
If styles make fights, Scully was the Muhammad Ali of his era. But it was clear after just one spring training broadcast that Benetti also knows how to stick and move and land a punch with the right style for the job.
JEFF SEIDEL: I'm telling you, Detroit is going to love Tigers' new broadcaster Jason Benetti
Detroit Tigers television play-by-play announcer Jason Benetti.
Over 2½ hours, he was light, breezy and quick to engage in banter with some well-timed jabs at analyst Craig Monroe, manager A.J. Hinch, reporter Johnny Kane or just about anyone.
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Before the game, Hinch was asked about Benetti and said, "We're gonna keep Jason. We love Jason."
Benetti interjected with, "Was it ever in question, A.J.?"
After a short in-game interview in the second inning, Hinch fired back. Hinch had teased Benetti and Monroe for taking their time to show up to spring training and when Benetti thanked him for the interview, Hinch said: "Anytime. We'll do it again if you guys ever come back."
If you watched the broadcast, you may have noticed Benetti didn't call a lot of balls and strikes or announce many lineup changes. That's typical for almost all spring training broadcasts.
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"Spring training is always such a weird beast," he told me afterward. "Because you know that there are going to be people in and out. You know that all that is going to happen. You kind of have to check yourself on that.
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"But it's not really like any one moment is going to make or break this season right now. So it's just about feeling everybody out and getting a sense of what baseball on your TV is again, you know? I don't want to speak for everybody, but from what I've heard from fans in the past it's like we just like having baseball. So let's have it sound like baseball and see where it goes."
[ MUST LISTEN: Make "Days of Roar" your go-to Detroit Tigers podcast, available anywhere you listen to podcasts ( Apple , Spotify ) ]
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What was most impressive about Benetti's first day on the job was that he didn't come off too eager to please and prove himself as some kind of Detroit expert. He was smart to lean on Monroe for insight often and — I hope all the Shep haters are paying attention — he kind of interviewed Monroe a few times, just like Shepard often did.
In the Tigers' 2-1 win over the Boston Red Sox , there were just nine hits and not a ton of action that demanded attention. But Benetti did a good job of punctuating some moments.
When Jake Rogers caught David Hamilton trying to steal third, Benetti forcefully said, "That … is … a … dagger! What a peg by Rogers."
I'm sure it wasn't a coincidence that the Tigers trotted out essentially their Opening Day lineup to give Benetti and Bally's plenty to talk about. And they did, as Spencer Torkelson , Riley Greene and Colt Keith got plenty of attention. But they did well to focus on Tarik Skubal .
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After Skubal pitched a masterful third inning, striking out the side in order by changing speeds effectively, Benetti offered his best line of the game: "I mean gas pedal, brakes. Gas pedal, brakes. I don't want to drive with him, but I'll watch him pitch."
[ MUST LISTEN: Make "Carlos and Shawn" your go-to Detroit sports podcast, available anywhere you listen to podcasts ( Apple , Spotify ) ]
I've known Shepard a long time and he has a great cutting wit, which unfortunately didn't come out enough during broadcasts. But Benetti's already established his sense of humor and how willingly he uses it. Nine players got engaged or married in the offseason and Benetti had fun with that when he noted, " Parker Meadows was one of, like, 30 guys who got engaged."
"It's like a new formation in the NFL," he said. "Everybody starts to run it and then that's how it goes."
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It's spring training for everyone and Benetti and Monroe kicked a couple of balls. Benetti mistakenly attributed Ceddanne Rafaela 's homer to Skubal instead of Tyler Holton , but later corrected it. When Monroe called the Grapefruit League the Cactus League, Benetti gently offered a correction with some humor: "I just didn't want the grapefruit lobby to come after us. Big grapefruit can maul you."
A Kane interview with Meadows was a meandering delight that ranged from engagement talk to wedding talk to weight loss and bulking up. Monroe doesn't work out, even though every day looks like arm day for him.
"I was just blessed with good genes," he said. "I just look like I've been working out."
Quietly, Benetti offered: "Same, same."
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Benetti will call about 130 games this season and will be spelled by radio announcer Dan Dickerson for the others. He'll return for the Tigers' next game on Bally's, Thursday against Toronto . After his debut, he was sure to note the broadcast will evolve throughout the season.
New Tigers TV broadcaster Jason Benetti at Comerica Park on Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023.
"What we sound like today," he said, "isn't what we're going to sound like after Game 80."
Maybe that's only fitting during a season in which the Tigers are constantly preaching process and patience. But I hope Benetti doesn't change too much, because he continued his verbal sparring match with Hinch by landing one of his best jabs after the final pitch.
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"A.J. Hinch," he said, "propelled by his second-inning interview with us, gets a 2-1 victory over Boston."
Contact Carlos Monarrez: cmonarrez@freepress.com . Follow him on Twitter @cmonarrez .
Next up: Braves
Matchup: Tigers (6-4) at Atlanta (5-5), Grapefruit League exhibition.
First pitch: 1:05 p.m. Tuesday; CoolToday Park, North Port, Florida.
TV/radio: None.
Probable pitchers: Tigers — RHP Reese Olson (5-7, 3.99 ERA in 2023); Braves — RHP Spencer Strider (20-5 3.86 ERA in 2023).
Opening Day: At Chicago White Sox ; 4:10 p.m. March 28; Bally Sports Detroit.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Jason Benetti sounds like right guy for TV gig in Detroit Tigers debut
