Detroit Tigers broadcaster Jason Benetti 'among the best' | Letters

After a Free Press column about the Detroit Tigers announcer Jason Benetti (“Detroit Tigers don’t have perfect TV broadcast — but it sure is fun to watch,” Aug. 31), we published a letter from a fan who wasn’t so high on Benetti. (“Tigers broadcaster Jason Benetti should ‘focus on the game’,” Sept. 6.) And then the floodgates opened (“Detroit Tigers broadcaster Jason Benetti is a ‘treasure’,” Sept. 9) . Few fans seem ambivalent about the unconventional announcer and his crew. Got thoughts on Benetti, the Tigers, the Lions or anything else? Tell us all about it in a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters, and we may publish it online and in print.

Benetti is no robo-ump

To those grumbling that Jason Benetti “talks too much” or “goes off track,” I say this: Thank goodness he does. Jason is the reason I tune into Tigers games every chance I get, even though I live 1,700 miles away from Detroit. Jason makes me laugh out loud. He also makes me think. The connections he draws between baseball and the wider world are fresh, original and often brilliant. His energy leaps out of the broadcast and makes me feel like I’m right there in Comerica Park.

When the Tigers clinched the playoffs, Jason’s call sent shivers down my spine: “Tigers win again. A city that doesn’t care about the odds has a baseball team to match. Out of nowhere, again, the Tigers have won.” Goosebumps. That’s how legends are made.

If all you want are lifeless balls and strikes, a robo-ump could handle that. Benetti is the soul of the broadcast.

Keith Marlowe

Calgary, Canada

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‘Less jokes, more baseball’

I’m one of the people that like just the game to be covered. I don’t need comedy hour by Andy Dirks and Jason Benetti. It’s pretty bad when you have to mute the game a lot because they just don’t shut up. Benetti always has to have a smart answer for everything! When you listen to him do a football game or a Washington Nationals baseball game, you don’t hear all that other (stuff). When he does the Tigers game, he goes on and on. I don’t mind a little humor during the game, at times you need it, but Dirks and Benetti are overkill. The Tigers radio broadcasters Dan Dickerson and Dan Petry … what a difference. Why not put Benetti on the radio, and bring Dickerson to TV? Let’s do this for 2026.

When the Tigers game is on another channel, I listen to those announcers instead. I even tried listening to the radio while I watched the game, but it didn’t work because the radio was two pitches ahead of the TV broadcast. I’d also like to see former Tiger players in the booth for a game or series. Get “Sweet Lou” Whitaker in there. Alan Trammell would be great. I know he does other things for the Tigers.

Why can’t the owners say something to the broadcasters? Let’s tone it down, guys, less jokes, more baseball. Dirks can be good, but he rambles on too much at times. I always wanted them to do a segment on “Where are they now?” During the off season, they could look up former players, interview them, ask what happen to to them when their baseball career was over, how did baseball prepare them for retirement, what player or manager helped them the most, and other questions like that. Get someone to sponsor it, do a minute or 90 seconds between one of the innings, during rain delays play full interview. What do you think?

Timothy Mikowski

Brighton

TV and radio are different, Benetti does a good job

I totally disagree with the complaints about Jason Benetti. I love all the insight and humor he inserts as we watch our Tigers.

My husband and I used to listen to every game on the radio and loved Ernie as well, but radio and TV are not the same. We are watching the game, so the play-by-play is not necessary. I enjoy learning more about the game, the players and also the people in the booth. It doesn’t matter who his partners are, he brings fun and interest to his broadcasts. He’s so fun with Andy, and Dan can hardly speak sometimes he’s laughing so hard! I love that, and am very disappointed when he isn’t there.

Jocelyn Roberts

West Bloomfield

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‘Benetti is among the best’

I grew up with Ernie Harwell’s dulcet voice in my ear. It was a different time. Harwell often left a lot of room open in his broadcasts much like a composer will leave a bit of room in a piece of music. He had a certain rhythm all his own. We may never be blessed with as gentle a soul — and a voice— in broadcasting again.

However, it is now a very different time. The vibe is much more upbeat, and the rhythmic punctuation of this era rambles on, often without pause. If I understand, correctly this is the complaint against Benetti. It is merely a stylistic quibble.

If pushed to answer, I would have to say Jason Benetti is among the best young broadcasters out there right now. I was glad that he came to Detroit. He and Andy Dirks have a banter with a distinct style. There is a lot of personality in that booth. Benetti’s oddball references sometimes are a little obscure; this only shows the quality of his education. He seems to be very nimble mentioning references from film, music and literature, however, this can be annoying for those who don’t get the reference.

I’m certain that the high spirits will settle in the broadcast booth as the regular season winds to an end and the playoffs begin.

Steven Garvey

Muskegon

Too much blah, blah

Can’t stand listening to Jason Benetti. He is so, so overrated … way too much blah, blah about things other than baseball. Dan Petry and Andy Dirks are fine, but Benetti drags them into things so non-baseball. Too much blah, blah … and the way the Tigers and stations that broadcast them dumped Matt Shephard, Mickey York and Trevor Thompson is shameful.

John Swando

Royal Oak

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers broadcaster Jason Benetti ‘among the best’ | Letters

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