Jason Benetti Successfully Replaced a Legend

Just two Jason’s enjoying a Sox baseball game in Milwaukee. Photo by Jcoydenreports.

It is not easy to replace a legend in any line of work. Following in the footsteps of a giant has to be one of the most difficult things you can ever do in your career. Hawk Harrelson is a Hall-of-Fame broadcaster who is beloved by White Sox and baseball fans alike. His “Hawkisms” will forever be beloved in sports jargon history. That is what Benetti was up against when he took the job over full-time eight years ago.

Having successfully navigated those waters along with one of the best analysts in the business Steve Stone, Benetti is now bolting the White Sox for the Detroit Tigers. Yes, the same Detroit Tigers who are stuck with Javy Baez at shortstop for the next four years. That tells you how incompetent the White Sox organization has become or is there something even more sinister lurking in the offices on 35th street?

Benetti has been able to carve out his own fandom in Chicago. It helps that he also broadcasts multiple sports and is a Chicago area native. He quirky sense of humor, and knowledge means he is one of the top talents in the industry. With the White Sox not doing much the field, Benetti at least was able to make the games somewhat watchable. Now he is gone though and the White Sox organization is on life support with its fans. This might be the final straw for many.

I had the pleasure of meeting Benetti myself a few years ago during a road game in Milwaukee. I was walking to my seat and there he was, just walking down the aisle beside me. I spoke to him and he reached out his hand to shake mine. I asked if he would take a picture with me and he quickly obliged before taking his seat and saying, “Go Sox.”

Bennetti’s departure seems too much like a planned move for me by White Sox ownership. Remember it was just a few months ago when it was leaked out that owner Jerry Reinsdorf was considering moving the team to Nashville because the team’s lease at Guaranteed Rate Field runs out in 2029. Shortly after that news broke, Kenny Williams and Rick Hahn were fired. It also came at a time when the organization announced that there would be no White Sox Fan Festival again this year.

This seems like an all too familiar business tactic in sports when billionaire owners are looking to move or leverage a town into a new stadium deal. It is very Oakland A’sish. Very Chicago Bearsish. Very L.A. Raiderish.

I stand by my statement, that the White Sox and Bulls won’t be good again until Jerry Reinsdorf either dies or is removed from power. That is sad for Chicago.