Jason Benetti grew up to be Chicago White Sox fan, but that didn't stop him from turning into Detroit's new sweetheart.
Benetti worked as the lead television announcer for the White Sox for the last eight years and was recently hired by the Tigers to replace Matt Shepard as Detroit's fresh face in the booth.
The 40-year-old Benetti first started covering the White Sox back in 2016, taking over as the lead announcer following Ken Harrelson's retirement. Benetti steadily grew to fame and has developed into one of the most intelligent and charismatic MLB announcers during his time in Chicago -- the White Sox will miss him dearly.
Benetti's only taking a small leap to the other side of the AL Central, where the city of Detroit is already welcoming him with open arms. In Benetti's first public comment on his move across the division, Benetti officially won Tigers fans over.
Tigers new announcer Jason Benetti is an inspiration to us all
Benetti was born with cerebral palsy, and because of his disability, he noted that he often elicits reactions that don't represent who he is "as a whole person."
He related his experiences to that of Detroit: "I don't like seeing people and a whole place get reduced to anything."
Benetti's words pull at every Tigers fan's heartstrings.
As one of the more trodden-upon franchises in the MLB, the Tigers -- and the city they play in -- don't exactly have the greatest reputation. The regurgitated stereotypes and narratives stem from Detroit's working class ethos as "The Motor City," the city that gave us Eminem, a strange style of pizza, and a slew of disappointing sports teams.
Benetti is merely pointing out there is more underneath the surface to the much-maligned personality of Detroit, and in some ways, he embodies the perfect sports media star to hopefully take the Tigers' broadcasting crew to new heights.
South Side lost a good one this year.
