White Sox Finally Hire Jason Benetti's Replacement

Well, the wait is over. The White Sox have finally hired their new play-by-play announcer to pair up with Steve Stone. According to Scott Merkin, the White Sox have hired John Schriffen to replace Jason Benetti.

Luckily for White Sox fans, he has some play-by-play experience, as he has done play-by-play for ESPN, calling mainly college sports and he has called Korean Baseball Organization games. He has also done some reporting for CBS Sports, so he has been around sports commentary for a while now.

According to his ESPN Press Room page, these are some of his more specific credentials:

"John Schriffen joined ESPN in August 2020 to call the platform’s coverage of the KBO (Korea Baseball Organization). He is now heard as a play-by-play voice across ESPN’s coverage of XFL, college football, basketball, softball and baseball, NBA G-league and Summer League and MLB. Schriffen also hosts ESPN’s presentation of the NBA Draft Combine.

Prior to ESPN, Schriffen provided news updates & anchored breaking news coverage for NFL Network as host of the network’s daily news program Up to the Minute. He also served as a fill-in host for NFL Total Access & provided live look-ins for NFL games across the country on NFL Gameday Live.

Schriffen was also a play-by-play voice and sideline reporter for CBS Sports from 2015-20. He called men’s and women’s college basketball games and served as a sideline reporter covering the NFL, college football, and basketball. There he was also a part of the Emmy Award-winning team covering The NFL on CBS and March Madness.

From 2012-14, Schriffen was a New York-based correspondent for ABC News where he reported across all of ABC’s platforms including Good Morning America and Nightline. He also spent several years at NBC4 in Washington, D.C. where he covered the White House and Capitol Hill, among other assignments.

In 2010, Schriffen began his broadcasting career as a sports anchor and reporter for News 12 in the Bronx, N.Y. A graduate of Dartmouth College, Schriffen was a pitcher on the baseball team his freshman year, then serving as the voice of Dartmouth athletics calling baseball, basketball and hockey games on the school’s radio network."

Thankfully, the White Sox were able to find someone that has some experience in the field. The worst thing they could have done was hire someone who has done little to no relevant work in the area, leaving an extra-large void in the booth where Jason Benetti once sat.

He could face a tough time winning over fans, as many were sad to see Benetti go. Hopefully, fans can give him a fair chance and I am curious to see how he will gel in the booth with Steve Stone.

Welcome to Chicago, John Schriffen!