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Mike Valenti: ‘Jason Benetti Might Be the Best Announcer in Baseball’

On Thursday morning, the Detroit Tigers and Bally Sports Detroit announced the addition of Jason Benetti as the team’s new television play-by-play contracts. Benetti, who signed a multi-year contract with the team to enter the position, will replace Matt Shepard and work on a minimum of 127 live game broadcasts for the team throughout the season. With the deal, he is able to continue his national broadcasting responsibilities with FOX Sports as an announcer for college basketball, college football and Major League Baseball.

In his introductory press conference with the team, Benetti explained to reporters how he often receives reactions from others that do not align with who he is as a person since he has cerebral palsy and an eye that drifts. Additionally, he conveyed how there are times where he has been underestimated, not to imply that he has a metaphorical chip on his shoulder per se, but rather just how life in general works out. Evidently, there have been times where people say he cannot do stuff and proves them wrong.

The Tigers have not had a winning season since 2016, nor has the franchise qualified for the playoffs since 2014, but last year demonstrated marked improvement with dynamic, young talent that has energized the fanbase and drawn augmented scrutiny towards the team. Some baseball fans believe that the team can potentially contend within the American League Central in 2024, providing an opportunity for Benetti to step into the role and grow with the organization.

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“I think quite often, Detroit is not known for its passionate fans or what it’s done for the music industry,” Benetti said. “I think people reduce Detroit to a couple of statistics, and I don’t like seeing people or a whole city get reduced to anything.”

On Thursday afternoon’s edition of The Valenti Show with Rico, co-host Mike Valenti dedicated part of the program to explaining why the signing of Benetti was a significant moment for Tigers fans. Within his remarks, he elucidated how Benetti has quickly become one of the most proficient and skilled play-by-play announcers in the sport and provides an incentive for the fans to watch the games on television.

“I know you guys are going to be like, ‘Wait dude, it’s an announcer.’ You don’t get it,” Valenti said on 97.1 The Ticket. “Jason Benetti might be the best announcer in baseball. Jason Benetti’s awesome. You know what the mark of a good broadcaster is? He doesn’t just do that – he can do college hoops, which he has; he does football. Jason Benetti does it all.”

The White Sox granted Benetti permission to explore the opportunity with the Tigers and ultimately watched him leave the organization’s television broadcasts. Benetti outlined how the Tigers organization demonstrated an interest in bringing him on to the television broadcasts, and he ended up wanting to join them just as much.

“The White Sox are a brain-dead organization for allowing this guy to walk away, which is basically what happened mind you,” Valenti said. “The Tigers had to step up and pay him because… Bally, like other places, can’t rub two nickels together. The point is you just went from having the worst broadcast on television to maybe the best.”

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Ever since reports of a physical altercation between former team announcers Mario Impemba and Rod Allen in 2018, the team has utilized Matt Shephard as the primary play-by-play announcer with Kirk Gibson as a color commentator. Jack Morris was part of the television broadcasts as well until this past season, which also included a rotation of color commentators including Craig Monroe, Todd Jones, Cameron Maybin and Austin Jackson.

“I can actually unmute the broadcast and I can watch the games,” Valenti said. “Now we always want you to listen to them on 97.1 [The Ticket] – shameless plug – but the point is that Benetti’s awesome.”

Valenti feels that Benetti is adept enough to bring his skills to any baseball market in the country, evinced through his appeal on various different sports. Many baseball fans, including Valenti, view him as one of the game’s preeminent voices and someone who will be part of the sports media landscape for years to come.

“If Joe Davis disappeared and was abducted by martians, Benetti would be on the list to replace him,” Valenti hypothesized. “You’re getting an absolute A-list baseball play-by-play man.”

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