Quick Wiki
- Full Name Jason Benetti
- Occupation Sports Commentator & Journalist
- Nationality American
- Birthplace Chicago, Illinois, USA
- Birth Date Sep 09, 1983
- Age 41 Years, 2 Months
Jason Benetti | Biography
Benetti has been a play-by-play commentator for ESPN since 2011He was born ten weeks prematurely with a respiratory illness. As a result, Benetti spent three months in intensive care in hospital after his birth. As a toddler, Benetti was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, a neurological disorder that affects moving, walking, and maintaining balance. Later, to improve his ability to move and walk, he underwent years of physical therapy and two surgeries. He is also a part of the 'Just Say Hi' campaign launched by the Cerebral Palsy Foundation in 2015.
Jason Benetti is an American sportscaster at ESPN & NBC Sports Chicago.
Who Is Jason Benetti?
Jason Benetti is a sports commentator. He has been working as the play-by-play voice of the Chicago White Sox baseball team for NBC Sports Chicago since 2016. Benetti has also been a play-by-play commentator for ESPN since 2011. He formerly worked for Fox Sports, Westwood One Radio, and Time Warner Cable Sports Channel.
How Old is Jason Benetti?
Jason Benetti was born in Chicago, Illinois, on 9 September 1983 to Rob and Sue Benetti. Benetti's age is 38 years old as of 2021.
Illness
He was born ten weeks prematurely with a respiratory illness. As a result, Benetti spent three months in intensive care in hospital after his birth. As a toddler, Benetti was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, a neurological disorder that affects moving, walking, and maintaining balance. Later, to improve his ability to move and walk, he underwent years of physical therapy and two surgeries.
Education
Benetti attended Homewood-Flossmoor High School in Flossmoor, Illinois. After finishing high school, he graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in broadcast journalism, economics, and psychology from Syracuse University in 2005. He then got a Juris Doctor from Wake Forest School of Law in 2011.
Early Career
In junior high, Benetti ran his school's National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournament pool. He later joined the radio broadcasters in high school.
His cerebral palsy restrained him from playing the tuba during marching band season at his high school. However, he got the opportunity to serve as the halftime broadcaster for marching events because of his band director.
While at Syracuse University, Benetti called lacrosse and women's basketball. Later, when he joined Wake Forest School of Law, he was the voice of Syracuse Chiefs in the International League.
He also worked for Fox Sports, Westwood One Radio, and Time Warner Cable Sports Channel. Additionally, he interned for Chicago-based commercial sports radio station WSCR.
ESPN
In 2011, Benetti started working at ESPN as a play-by-play commentator, calling college baseball, football and high school football, lacrosse games, and Major League Baseball (MLB). In addition, he called the National Football League (NFL), college football, and MLB on ESPN Radio. Benetti has also called college football and basketball games on ESPN2 and ESPNU.
Furthermore, Benetti worked as the play-by-play commentator for ESPN's coverage of MLB, including stats-focused broadcasts of the National League Wild Card Game in 2018 and the American League Wild Card Game in 2019. He also worked as a part of ESPN's MLB Statcast AI coverage of the Home Run Derby games.
NBC Sports Chicago
In 2016, Benetti started co-working with Ken "Hawk" Harrelson as television play-by-play announcer for Chicago White Sox baseball club for NBC Sports Chicago. The following year, he signed a multi-year contract to continue as the primary play-by-play voice for the White Sox. Benetti shared broadcasting duties with Harrelson in his first three seasons with the club. In 2019, he started working as the club's full-time play-by-play voice alongside analyst Steve Stone.
Benetti called a majority of Sox home games and select road games from 2016 to 2018. He also called select Chicago Bulls games in 2018-19 for NBC Sports Chicago alongside analyst Stacey King. In addition, he helped create the White Sox Spring Training broadcast segment called 'SoxMath.'
In August 2021, Benetti tested positive for COVID-19. As a result, he was briefly replaced by Mike Monaco on White Sox broadcasts until he recovered.
Other Projects
In addition, Benetti did broadcasting work for BIG EAST Conference, High Point University, DePaul University, IMG College, and baseball team Salem Avalanche (now known as Salem Red Sox). He also called games during the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament for Westwood One Radio in 2017 and 2018.
Additionally, he handled play-by-play responsibilities on many bowl games, including the Fiesta Bowl, Outback Bowl, Cheez-It Bowl, Cactus Bowl, New Orleans Bowl, and Belk Bowl.
Benetti also worked as an adjunct professor at Syracuse University's communications school, S.I. Newhouse School Of Public Communications, where he taught sports broadcasting.
Furthermore, Benetti is involved with Communication Hope through Assistive Technology (CHAT) camp at Syracuse University.
Advocacy
Benetti has been an advocate of cerebral palsy. He is part of the 'Just Say Hi' campaign launched by the Cerebral Palsy Foundation in 2015. He also became a part of the foundation's Awkward Moments campaign, an animated digital video series that humorously examines interactions involving disability.
