SI

NBC Passes on Hiring Full-Time Analyst for ‘Sunday Night Baseball’

Play-by-player Jason Benetti will work with local analysts every week.
Jimmy Traina|
Jason Benetti has jumped from Fox to NBC to handle ‘Sunday Night Baseball’ play-by-play.
Jason Benetti has jumped from Fox to NBC to handle ‘Sunday Night Baseball’ play-by-play. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

1. NBC announced on Wednesday that Jason Benetti will be the play-by-play caller for Sunday Night Baseball this season.

That’s a great choice and kudos to NBC for being able to bring Benetti over from Fox.

What’s more interesting to me about NBC’s play for Sunday nights, is that Benetti will not have a regular partner. NBC has chosen to pass on hiring a full-time analyst and instead, according to NBC, “will be paired with analysts with connections to each participating team.”

I have the coldest take ever regarding this development: I don’t know how I feel about this move.

I like the idea of having a regular broadcast crew that fans can develop a connection with over the year. Whether you liked them or not, baseball has had some memorable national crews over the years, including Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, Jon Miller and Joe Morgan, and Vin Scully and Joe Garagiola if you want to go way back.

Fans want to build a connection with a broadcast crew, no matter the sport. Sports fans also like consistency.

I’m not a fan of playing “guess the announcer” every week. If you miss the opening segment of Sunday Night Baseball this season, more often than not, you’re going to have no idea who the analysts are unless you recognize the voice of your local broadcaster.

The flip side is that fans like to hear their local broadcasters. This is especially true in the postseason. National guys come in and just don’t know the team nearly as well as the analyst who has been there all year calling more than a hundred games.

This isn’t a knock on NBC. I give the network credit for getting creative. And I know it’s unrealistic to say I want one national analyst for the regular season and local analysts in the postseason. But that’s my take.

I would love to know how you guys feel about NBC’s plan.

2. CBS and TNT Sports have announced their men’s NCAA tournament broadcast crews:

  • Ian Eagle, Bill Raftery and Grant Hill
  • Kevin Harlan, Robbie Hummel and Stan Van Gundy
  • Brian Anderson and Jim Jackson
  • Andrew Catalon and Steve Lappas
  • Brandon Gaudin and Chris Webber
  • Spero Dedes and Jim Spanarkel
  • Tom McCarthy and Candace Parker and Dan Bonner
  • Brad Nessler and Wally Szczerbiak

The most noteworthy piece of news is that Brian Anderson, Charles Barkley and Dick Vitale will call TruTV’s second game of the “First Four” on Tuesday, March 17.

3. Whoever handles social media for the New Orleans Pelicans should take a bow. After Stephen A. Smith got on Zion Williamson for having a weight issue during a recent edition of First Take, the team’s social media department decided to return the favor, which angered Smith.

And again, the Pelicans’ social media team fired back with a creative retort.

4. NBC’s “throwback” broadcast of the Spurs-Sixers game on Tuesday was a ton of fun and brought back the best NBA memories. This should be the intro every week.

5. Kansas coach Bill Self had the coolest looking ejection on Tuesday night.

6. The latest SI Media With Jimmy Traina features a conversation with Puck sports media reporter John Ourand.

Ourand explains what’s going on with the NFL television rights deals, which are expected to be reopened later this year. Is there any chance CBS or Fox could lose their Sunday packages? How much more of the pie will streaming services get? Will the NFL diminish Sunday Ticket? Are we going to see more playoff games on streaming platforms?

In addition, Ourand shares his thoughts on what ESPN will do with the NFL Network, the NBA’s new deal with Amazon, where things stand with Fox keeping the World Series and much more.

Following Ourand, Peter Schrager from ESPN fills in for Sal Licata and joins me for the weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. Topics covered with Schrager include the nonstop NFL schedule, his best celebrity interaction during Super Bowl week, dealing with the big blizzard that hit the East Coast, a couple of Larry David-esque moments, his iced coffee addiction, television recommendations and more.

You can listen to the SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast below or on Apple and Spotify.

You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on YouTube.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: It was 25 years ago today that the Season 3 premiere episode of The Sopranos aired on HBO. It was one of the show’s better season openers with the FBI trying to close in on Tony while a Police classic heightened the urgency.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on X and Instagram.

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Jimmy Traina
JIMMY TRAINA

Jimmy Traina is a staff writer and podcast host for Sports Illustrated. A 20-year veteran in the industry, he’s been covering the sports media landscape for seven years and writes a daily column, Traina Thoughts. Traina has hosted the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast since 2018, a show known for interviews with some of the most important and powerful people in sports media. He also was the creator and writer of SI’s Hot Clicks feature from 2007 to '13.

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