Jason Benetti didn’t have an easy job when he first arrived in Chicago. He found himself replacing a larger than life personality and the voice we’ve all grown up listening to in Ken “The Hawk” Harrelson. The passing of the torch, so to speak, couldn’t have been smoother between the TV play-by-play commentators and it shows in a new ranking conducted by The Athletic.
The media organization asked its readers to grade their team’s television broadcast on a scale of 1-5 based on variety of factors from technical quality to talent in the booth. When all was said and done, the White Sox crew received the following grades:
- Jason Benetti (Play-by-Play): 4.59
- Steve Stone (Color Commentary): 4.62
- Chuck Garfien (Field Reporting): 3.87
- Pre- and postgame shows: 3.62
- Technical Quality: 4.03
- Overall: 4.39
As you can see, both Benetti and Stone themselves earned incredibly high marks out of the criteria aspects, contributing to the 4.39 overall grade. When all was said and done, the White Sox’s television team was ranked 8th in all of baseball.
The top seven ahead of them looked like this:
- New York Mets: Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez, and Ron Darling
- San Francisco Giants: Duane Kuiper and Jon Miller
- San Diego Padres: Don Orsillo, Mark Grant, and Mark Sweeney
- Los Angeles Dodgers: Joe Davis, Tim Neverett, and Orel Hershiser
- Houston Astros: Todd Kalas and Geoff Blum
- Milwaukee Brewers: Brian Anderson, Matt Lepay, and Bill Schroeder
- Chicago Cubs: Len Kasper and Jim Deshaies
Having watched a decent number of these on-air teams, I think these rankings are fairly accurate. The bias in me would likely push Benetti and Stone themselves into at least the six-spot, though the other components holding them back makes number eight more realistic.
Too high? Too low? What do you think of these rankings? Let us know in the comments below!
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When Stone worked with Hawk or even others, he was fantastic. When Benetti does ESPN games or other broadcasts, he is excellent. I just don’t like them together at all. Both try to be too funny and out do the other. Stone tries to us big words and show his socks! It’s ridiculous in my opinion. The stupid gift table is awful! Benetti, just call the game and cut out the BS. Stone, just offer your excellent insights and forget the wise crack comedy!
Again, separately, they are great, but together like they have become, causes me to turn off the sound or watch the opposing feed!