Jason Benetti’s Tigers Debut: Home Run or a Swing and Miss?

Former voice of Tigers baseball Mario Impemba and Rod Allen call Austin Jackson’s game-winning throw to home plate to capture a series sweep against the rival Cleveland Guardians

As the old saying goes, you don’t know what you got until it’s gone. I took for granted just how good Impemba and Allen were in the Tigers’ TV booth. The duo remained strong until an incident on September 4th, 2018, when Impemba and Allen reportedly argued over a chair. Allen, the former Tigers TV analyst and player, acknowledged that he and Impemba argued that day but insisted that the media blew it out of proportion and that it led to them getting fired.

Nobody could have known that on that day, it would be the last time we’d get to see the two broadcast a game for the Tigers. Detroit would win the game 8-3 and put an end to a 16-year duo in the booth for the Tigers.

It didn’t take long for me to realize that I took Detroit’s broadcast team for granted. Impemba’s replacement was Michigan native Matt Shepard. There was never a true replacement for Rod Allen as the analyst chair has been filled by many former players. Craig Monre is the primary analyst, but names like Kirk Gibson, Dan Petry, Jack Morris, Austin Jackson, Cameron Maybin, and Todd Jones have made their way to the booth alongside Shepard.

I quickly realized that Impemba and Allen left a huge void after they were fired. The Tigers broadcast just wasn’t the same. While you could appreciate that Matt Shepard was passionate about the teams, he wasn’t a good play-by-play announcer. He lacked a lot, and it seemed like the Tigers could never find a good fit for the seat next to Shepard either. To make matters worse, Shepard joined the booth right as the Tigers hit rock bottom. It left Tigers fans with a poor-performing team, and a disappointing broadcast for each game.

However, not all things were bad. The Tigers still had one of the best play-by-play voices in baseball. Dan Dickerson is someone I consider to be one of the all-time greats as far as broadcasters for the Detroit Tigers. Dickerson is entering his 24th season as the voice of Tigers baseball on the radio. Unfortunately, seeing Dickerson broadcast a game from the TV booth is like a Bigfoot sighting. It’s scarce. He didn’t make an appearance on Bally Sports Detroit last season, but if I’m not mistaken, I believe he called a series in Oakland on TV in 2022.

This season, we’re going to get to see Dickerson in the TV booth for a handful of games. That’s because after moving on from Shepard, Detroit landed one of the most beloved broadcasters in sports when they hired Jason Benetti. One of the best voices in baseball will call at least 127 games for the Tigers this season. When Benetti has national TV broadcast obligations, Dickerson will step in and call games on Bally Sports Detroit. When away from the radio booth, Greg Gania, the voice of Tigers double-a affiliate Erie SeaWolves, will fill in on 97.1 the ticket.

Did Jason Benetti’s Tigers Debut Meet or Exceed Expectations?

I loved the addition of Jason Benetti this off-season and had pretty lofty expectations for him ahead of his Tigers debut, and somehow he found a way to exceed them.

One of my favorite things about Benetti, and it’s something I knew about him before joining Detroit, is how he always makes sure to lighten the mood with subtle jokes here and there. Enthusiasm is something I always look for in a good play-by-play announcer, and Benetti has a way of being enthusiastic while not going over the top. Even with calling balls and strikes. Benetti doesn’t go overboard, but he doesn’t make it boring. Something Shepard struggled with was either going overboard on a call and messing up or being very, very boring. I can tell you aren’t going to feel that way with Benetti on the call. Perhaps the biggest perk with Jason in the booth is bringing the best out of Craig Monre, who I’ve never thought of as a good analyst, but with Benetti, it seems like a good fit and I think that Monre called a great game alongside Jason on Monday against the Red Sox.

All signs point towards this being a fantastic addition for the Tigers and I’m even more excited for the season after watching Monday’s 2-1 victory with the new play-by-play voice of the Tigers on the call.

Benetti isn’t the only big addition that will bolster the Tigers’ broadcast lineup. Carlos Peña, a former Tiger and a familiar face on MLB Network, will make appearances in the booth for Bally Sports Detroit joining Jason Benetti to call some Tigers baseball this season.

Benetti’s next broadcast will be Thursday, March 7th, against the Toronto Blue Jays on Bally Sports Extra.