Jason Benetti
Appearances
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Jason Benetti's Absurd Observations & Limited Fakes
And that's the only sport where I could I could veritably say to you, like, at some point, this might get into a show like this might actually be a portion of an inning at some point.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Jason Benetti's Absurd Observations & Limited Fakes
He is. You take that, Dan, and all that he does on the left-hand side with the changeup that's so menacing and his willingness to add and subtract and then add pitches and be really into pitch design and that sort of thing, and you combine it with this level of just like... angry dominance of the other person. There was this moment in Cincinnati in July, right before the All-Star break.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Jason Benetti's Absurd Observations & Limited Fakes
And I've not asked Tarek this directly, but I get the feeling that part of it was, OK, we hear a lot about the other guy. Here's what I'm going to do. Elie Dela Cruz was up. who obviously is a rocket ship and a star in the game. But Scooble struck him out, and there was just this massive scream that came out of him.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Jason Benetti's Absurd Observations & Limited Fakes
And I cannot help but think there's a little, like, Michael Jordan last dance in there of, like, oh, yeah, like... I've heard a lot about you playing defense, Gary Payton. Like, here's the fastball. There you go. There's a changeup. See you later. It's been fun.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Jason Benetti's Absurd Observations & Limited Fakes
And I really, the more I've done play-by-play, the more I really crave watching people who are just edge-of-the-bell-curve competitive because they tend to just be the most amazing feeder. And they do things just psychologically that are, you know, psychotic in the best way. Angry. Does he pitch angry? Oh, he pitches furious.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Jason Benetti's Absurd Observations & Limited Fakes
Like, I don't know what the world did to him on days that he pitches, but it did something to him. And like his catcher, Jake Rogers, who caught literally every inning he threw last year, will go out to the mound. And he's basically like a comedian slash therapist.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Jason Benetti's Absurd Observations & Limited Fakes
because he was like trying to get Scooble to smile, trying to get him stopped from like stomping around and like yelling at the umpire. But then you talk to Tarek on days off and he's just like, he's a regular, like normal human being who has like gone from 15 to one. And I just, I'm always endlessly fascinated at where that switch is.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Jason Benetti's Absurd Observations & Limited Fakes
The Dan Levitard Show, brought to you by Steak and Shake. New banana chocolate Snickers. Crispity, crunchity Kit Kat milkshake.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Jason Benetti's Absurd Observations & Limited Fakes
I do like really obscure announcers that like only like five people know. So I'm not going to play those hits. It's like the Bill Hader impression of the guy from Dateline, right? Keith Morrison. Like Bill Hader's like, I know how to do this, but nobody knows who I'm talking about.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Jason Benetti's Absurd Observations & Limited Fakes
so i have a couple of those but uh i do a uh you know robbie hummel who's become omnipresent on college basketball like very well could be the next like huge analyst in college basketball if you watch him do a game he learned from matt painter as coach at purdue the that like when you have a scouting report on a guy but you don't like exactly follow the scouting report coach painter would come up and say this phrase and robbie robbie's kind of got like a
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Jason Benetti's Absurd Observations & Limited Fakes
He's a little bit like, he's not brilliant at all, but he kind of sounds a little bit like it. And he'll be like, that's his deal. He goes over his left shoulder. How could you not know that? So if you watch Robbie do a game, he's going to, as he talks about the scouting report, he'll be like, that's his deal. And Amari Barnett goes right. Like that's his deal. That's his thing. Right.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Jason Benetti's Absurd Observations & Limited Fakes
So just watch for a Robbie game and you will hear that's his deal.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Jason Benetti's Absurd Observations & Limited Fakes
He is. First of all, I sent him a CD when I was a senior in college and I got this phone call and it was from a number that I didn't have in my phone. And I pick it up and he goes, Jason, Sean McDonough, how are you? And I was like, hey, Sean, you're just calling me, huh? And he's like, I listen to your CD. It's very good. Here are some thoughts.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Jason Benetti's Absurd Observations & Limited Fakes
And so I revered Sean for the way he sounds and the way he brings humor into it and the way that he used to just like snipe at Raph and Billis. Big Monday was really important to me as a college student, but as somebody growing up in this industry. So, you know, like McDonough just being like, right after he has Irish arthritis, he wakes up stiff in a new joint every morning.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Jason Benetti's Absurd Observations & Limited Fakes
Like that sort of thing is my kind of humor. Right. And so that every Monday was really, really important to me in my career. And there have been times in games where I'll just be like Jones baseline. And I'm like, oh, no, like you cannot you cannot actually do that. You know, it's it's why like if you do I an eagle too much, you're like, oh, a foreign facial. Right.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Jason Benetti's Absurd Observations & Limited Fakes
Then suddenly it comes out in games where you're just like, oh, what a drive. Oh, no, that's not even me. Like, that's totally somebody else. That's not good at all. Or you become Boo, where he's like, three is good. And there's, like, a slight dismissiveness to it, even though, like, you know he's really into it. So but that's the that's the scary part of all of it is you just become them.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Jason Benetti's Absurd Observations & Limited Fakes
So I did the Robbie impression during a game with Bill Raftery. I was like, that's a deal. And Robbie texted me, you're dead to me. To which then one of his assistant coaches at Purdue texted, love the Robbie impression. So it's mixed signals, really, that I'm getting.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Jason Benetti's Absurd Observations & Limited Fakes
uh you know it's uh it's just a little like low-key there's like a there's like a i i don't do a full-out version of it but when i talk to him he's like hey you know uh you want to do dinner tonight or uh what are you what are you like there's just like it's like a low hum sort of it's not perfect it's a refrigerator hum
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Jason Benetti's Absurd Observations & Limited Fakes
He's a low hum, but he's the most empathetic, kind, low hum that you've ever gotten. Do you have any idea? Do you know Len Casper, the former Cubs TV announcer, now White Sox radio? Yep. There was a, I was out for a game with the White Sox and then Len was in on TV and there was a game winner that went over the Orioles right fielder. And he was just like,
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Jason Benetti's Absurd Observations & Limited Fakes
And the problem with all of this is I just revere announcers. I love sounds and I love announcers. And I think people have thought I'm making fun of people, but I'm like, I love sounds. And so I just, I hear these moments and I get excited about them.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Jason Benetti's Absurd Observations & Limited Fakes
So then as a storyteller is just a number one. But then then you get to like specific people with specific sports. You know, I find Joe Buck to be truly phenomenal. His mind moves very quickly and sharply. I think Sean on college football is just unbelievably good. I thought Gary Thorne doing hockey was just unreal.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Jason Benetti's Absurd Observations & Limited Fakes
Like, there's a call of his that Paul Correa, when he was playing for the Ducks, he got knocked on the ground, and then he gets back up, and it's off the floor, on the board, Paul Correa. But right before he takes the shot, he's like, the crowd wants it. Slap shot, score, right? It's, like, it's bone-chilling how good it is. So there are just, like, for specific events, like, I...
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Jason Benetti's Absurd Observations & Limited Fakes
totally underrated Andrew Catalan for the NCAA tournament. He has nailed some huge moments the past bunch of years. There are just so many good people. But yeah, I just enjoy the sounds we get to make while we do games.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Jason Benetti's Absurd Observations & Limited Fakes
Oh, oh, yes, I did. So the NHL had a lockout like many years ago. I was in Syracuse at the time. I was doing games for like Time Warner Cable. And I did a game on a Saturday at Cornell Hockey. And I'm not a big hockey guy. So I would like kind of muddled my way through it, figured it out. The next day, Doc Emrick did the game. the same series. It was like Colgate Cornell. Doc did it.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Jason Benetti's Absurd Observations & Limited Fakes
And I was like, yeah, I'm an idiot. I have no idea how to do this. Like you all think I'm horrible at this because Doc's the greatest. And I had to do the game the day before him.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Jason Benetti's Absurd Observations & Limited Fakes
and you know not like confronted i mean i like i said last year about a tiger pitcher just jokingly like that he wasn't all that skilled in fielding a ball and he came up to me in the clubhouse he was like he was like look at this and he showed me video of like him in high school right so i you know if you say it with the proper tone i feel like that's another that's what's important
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Jason Benetti's Absurd Observations & Limited Fakes
Well, that that I don't know that I can help you with. But if you say it in a way that is like welcoming and understanding and you can be self-deprecating, too, I think, you know, people know, like as somebody who walks kind of funny, I'm not about to go and run the steeplechase. Right. So like that's not going to be a thing for me. So I just kind of do it in a self-deprecating way.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Jason Benetti's Absurd Observations & Limited Fakes
But if you're not willing to work on your tone, then I don't know that I could be of much help.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Jason Benetti's Absurd Observations & Limited Fakes
Oh, that's great. No, that's that's definitely upstanding behavior is what I would call that.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Jason Benetti's Absurd Observations & Limited Fakes
Five trillion percent.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Jason Benetti's Absurd Observations & Limited Fakes
Yes, absolutely. Please. Can Boog and I do it together would be my question. When we did KBO Korean baseball together, we had the time of our lives. Can we do it together?
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Jason Benetti's Absurd Observations & Limited Fakes
Congratulations. Hope you enjoy it.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Jason Benetti's Absurd Observations & Limited Fakes
But what am I supposed to do? I'm way closer to my microwave than I am the game. So how am I supposed to do it with perfection? The whole idea is to just roll it out, see what happens. I don't suggest that you should do that for the final four or something like that. But, I mean, it was basically just improv, right?
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Jason Benetti's Absurd Observations & Limited Fakes
I've never actually done improv, but KBO games were as close to doing improv as you could possibly get. I mean, when you have on July 4th a competitive eater on as an interview guest, live from Lowe's where he's buying paint because he's redoing his house, that's pretty much where you know you've broken one of the walls down, and he can fix it for you, actually. Yeah.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Jason Benetti's Absurd Observations & Limited Fakes
Nah, I think everybody else needs to follow the lead of the Dodgers and go after free agents and things like that. I mean, that's where I am on this is I everybody has the opportunity to do that. Everybody has the opportunity to do what the Dodgers want to do. And frankly, I don't think having that, you know, to take robot baseball's terminology, a Death Star is bad for anybody.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Jason Benetti's Absurd Observations & Limited Fakes
I think if every other fan base says as long as it's not the Dodgers, which I feel like some people are saying, I have nothing against the Dodgers, but some people are saying that I do tend to feel like that's good for the sport because you can just say like, hey, yeah, we have a we have a villain now.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Jason Benetti's Absurd Observations & Limited Fakes
I was gallivanting positively through the thought.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Jason Benetti's Absurd Observations & Limited Fakes
Sorry about the internet in Lakeland, Florida. My sincere apologies.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Jason Benetti's Absurd Observations & Limited Fakes
So I grew up a New Orleans Saints fan and they traded their entire draft for Ricky Williams once. Like literally everybody. And he had no rookies to hang out with. And he was, you know, a little bit of an eccentric guy in the first place. But they, you know, they traded their entire draft for Ricky Williams.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Jason Benetti's Absurd Observations & Limited Fakes
And now knowing what we know about running backs in the NFL, you know, maybe not worth the entire draft. And I will say I jumped in in the middle of the list Nobody ever says the word gallivanting positively. Nobody's ever been gallivanting in like a really positive light. That's a good point.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Jason Benetti's Absurd Observations & Limited Fakes
So musty is a very, very funny word for baseball announcers, because I do think sometimes we all can get a little musty after a seven o'clock game goes 12 innings into a one o'clock start. Look, I watched a lot of SNL growing up. And I listened to a lot of George Carlin CDs and things like that. And that sort of observational fun time is interesting to me.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Jason Benetti's Absurd Observations & Limited Fakes
And also, let's be honest, over the course of before the pitch clock, How much of, like, the three-hour baseball telecast was really, like, gripping? Like, edge of the seat, top of the first time you ever rode it amusement park ride roller coaster thing? Like, it's not really that. So thank you for noticing, I think, and apologies to anybody that's overly musty next to me.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Jason Benetti's Absurd Observations & Limited Fakes
Well, I appreciate it. I mean, I think part of it is just my own mind that gets kind of scattered. But I will say, like, part of where my sensibility comes from is from working a lot with Bill Walton. And I know we've talked about him before, but I loved that man. I loved him every time we sat next to each other. I loved every time he would look at me and give me a little wink.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Jason Benetti's Absurd Observations & Limited Fakes
knowingly about something that he just said to me, even though he was still doing the bit. I mean, I love the man and a lot of what I do is informed by him and the grave loss from not having him on the planet anymore.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Jason Benetti's Absurd Observations & Limited Fakes
Well, so we we did a spring training game on radio and I was needling him about the the challenge system, right, where you tap your head in spring training and you can challenge a ball or a strike. And he then like he got on a soapbox and we realized that like four pitches were gone. It's not the ideal thing on radio, sir.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Jason Benetti's Absurd Observations & Limited Fakes
And we don't do a ton of games together where I think it's actually just going to be the one in spring training. And then Andy Dirk's Dan Petrie, among others, are going to be my partner. But like the reason I love baseball is because of those sides. And Dan, you're talking about like like me and whatever I do. But it's a we in a lot of ways, like Andy Dirk's.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Jason Benetti's Absurd Observations & Limited Fakes
who played for the Tigers when they went to the World Series a decade ago is a really sharp guy. He's doing more games this year. We were doing a game last year, and he couldn't think of the term lookalike. And all that came to his mind was the phrase resemblance person. So we were talking about somebody looking like somebody else. And he's like, oh, that's his resemblance person.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Jason Benetti's Absurd Observations & Limited Fakes
And I cannot get the phrase resemblance person out of my head. It's way better than doppelganger. It's way better than lookalike. But you're just hanging out with people and talking. And, you know, like, I know you know this. Bits just kind of happen. Like inside jokes just happen. And baseball is a great, I guess, trampoline for it.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Jason Benetti's Absurd Observations & Limited Fakes
So team baseball is just different than all the rest of them because you get to know guys like you really, really get to know guys. You get to know their tendencies. You get to know what makes them tick. You can walk up to them and just say kind of asides and just see where it goes because you have a sense of their sensibility.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Jason Benetti's Absurd Observations & Limited Fakes
like today i don't have the game in lakeland they're on the road but i was in the clubhouse and the tigers have uh tigers have this hot prospect named jackson job who very possibly could make their rotation this year as the four or five starter and i just went up to him and i like this was the only piece of the conversation but it lays the foundation for the future i go have you ever seen arrested development
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hour 2: Jason Benetti's Absurd Observations & Limited Fakes
He goes, no, what's that? I was like, it's a sitcom, but there's a character named Job on the show who's a magician. And like, you should probably just know that it exists. And then he started telling me about a nickname that he got from some other movie and all that stuff.