We talk a lot about the on-field highs and woes of the Tigers, but we only periodically get into the broadcast team. While the general opinion at BYB HQ is that Jason and Andy are a breath of fresh air and one of the best broadcast teams that Detroit has had in years, evidently, that opinion is not universal. In today’s links, we’ll get into how the duo (and the rest of the team… with a notable exception) ranked in the annual Awful Announcing broadcaster poll.
We’ll also take a look at a big milestone
for one Tiger, and some new things Rob Manfred said this week that may or may not amount to anything.
So let’s get right into it.
Detroit Tigers News
- Awful Announcing released their annual broadcaster rankings, and while Detroit has (for good reason) gotten much higher on the list, we have to politely disagree with their placement of Jason, Andy, and Co. at number six. (Also, justice for Daniela Bruce, who was not mentioned at all.) Interestingly, it seemed like the shift to Jason Benetti as the primary play-by-play announcer has not been without its detractors. Here’s some of what AA had to say about the collected votes:
The overall response here saw the Tigers move even higher in the Top 10. However, that came with some intense polarization. They received the fourth-most As (620 of 1,362), but also the fourth-most Fs (230).
That polarization was reflected in the comments as well, especially when it came to the discussion of the broadcast’s increased tangents away from the field in the Benetti era. That included “Not sure when a baseball broadcast became a standup comedy act, but that’s what we have every night,” “Wish more people would see through the Benetti schtick,” “Too many jokes, not enough baseball,” and “Ugh, I wish they would just talk about the game.”But there was a huge amount of praise for Benetti and this approach too, such as “Benetti is one of the top PxP commentators in the sport,” “Benetti is a treasure,” and “Jason and Andy are the ultimate duo, providing humor and insight to each broadcast.”
- The Tigers inch up the Power Rankings thanks in large part to their bullpen stars. This week they’re sitting at number 3.
- A little roster update:
- A happy 1000th game to Gleyber Torres.
AL Central News
- Royals’ rookie Noah Cameron is having a rookie season for the ages.
- Aaron Gleeman looks at how the Twins continue to struggle after their collapse in 2024. ($)
MLB News
- How does the Phillies Phanatic keep from getting too ripe in the summer heat? Well, would you believe… vodka?
- Injuries could lead to the end of the season for Zach Wheeler and Josh Hader.
- A Canadian Little Leaguer trolled Juan Soto during an interview.
- Rob Manfred had a few updates on MLB TV deals.
- Speaking of Manfred, he also talked a little about expansion and division realignment.
- This is an interesting and likely flawed take on current baseball, but I think it opens up some interesting debates we can get started in the comments, what do you think?