John Schriffen & Jason Benetti calls show stark differences in directions of White Sox, Tigers

Friday’s game between the Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers was significant for both franchises — but in entirely different ways. Nowhere was that more apparent than in the call of the final out from each team’s play-by-play man.

For the White Sox, 2024 has been miserable. And while plenty of teams are bad, Chicago’s struggles have been the kind that you just can’t look away from. Even the team’s own social media accounts have taken to trolling the White Sox. Chicago has looked like a team that could break the record of the 1962 Mets’ record for most losses in a single season. Throughout the second half, breaking the record seemed to be a matter of not if, but when. On Friday, we got that answer. Detroit defeated Chicago 4-1. In the process, the Tigers handed the White Sox their 121st loss of the season.

John Schriffen, calling the game for the White Sox on NBC Sports Chicago, summarized the significance of the loss in his call of the final out.

“It’s official,” Schriffen said. “That is loss No. 121. And the 2024 White Sox now have more losses than any team in modern baseball history.”

The camera then showed the Tigers jumping around and hugging each other in celebration. If one didn’t know any better, it might look like the Tigers were simply celebrating being the team to hand the White Sox loss No. 121.

Of course, that’s not the full story. Friday’s win clinched a playoff spot for the Tigers. Chicago’s color commentator, Steve Stone, eventually made that note . Schriffen detailed the significance of the game for Detroit throughout the game. But once the final out was recorded, his focus was solely on what the loss meant for the White Sox.

Schriffen certainly had Chicago blinders on — as did his counterpart, Jason Benetti, calling the game for the Tigers on Bally Sports Detroit. His focus was only on what the game meant for those in the Motor City.

“The Tigers, for the first time in 10 years, are going to the playoffs. It’s actually happening,” an excited Benetti screamed.

After several seconds of letting the sounds of the stadium tell the story, Benetti continued.

“Everyone else stood there like the house by the side of the road and let the Tigers go by,” he said.

Of course, announcers having different tones regarding something is not unusual. That’s usually apparent when the local radio calls are heard at the end of a postseason series. Heck, it’s often the case when there’s a disputed call on the field. But even when the attitudes are different, the focus is usually on the same thing.

But here, much like the teams they call, Schriffen and Benetti’s attention were in starkly different places.

[Photo Credit: Bally Sports Detroit, NBC Sports Chicago]

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