Chicago Sun-Times columnist calls for White Sox to move on from play-by-play man John Schriffen

John Schriffen is wrapping up his second season as the television play-by-play voice of the Chicago White Sox. One Chicago columnist, Jeff Agrest of the Chicago Sun-Times, says that the White Sox should not bring Schriffen back for Year 3.

Agrest started his editorial by recalling an awkward exchange between Schriffen and Gordon Beckham during a recent game. Still, one of the primary reasons he cited in calling for Schriffen’s dismissal is his on-air rapport with longtime color analyst Steve Stone.

“Schriffen hasn’t clicked with lead analyst Steve Stone, which is a must. He seems more at ease with Beckham and Dan Plesac,” Agrest wrote. “The two of them generally don’t have conversations. They take turns talking. Schriffen doesn’t set up Stone enough to tap into his extensive knowledge of the game. In fact, Schriffen tries to be an analyst himself. He talks so much about pitching that he takes away from Stone.”

Among the other issues cited was Schriffen’s “excessively positive” commentary. Agrest cited referring to Miguel Vargas (who, heading into Friday, had a .227/.308/.391 slash line) as a “star” and pitcher Shane Smith (with a modest 4.06 ERA and 1.219 WHIP) as “one of the best in the game right now.” Schriffen’s overly positive outlook was occasionally an issue during the team’s record-setting 121-loss campaign in 2024, as well.

Those issues, though, were not the only ones cited by Agrest.

“Schriffen doesn’t believe in brevity,” Agrest wrote. “Count how many times he says the inning during a game. Yes, announcers give the count, outs and score even with a scorebug on the screen. But it’s like a tick for Schriffen, who once said it was the top of the ninth inning 10 times within six batters.

“He’s not prepared enough for the broadcasts,” Agrest continued. “His preparation amounts to hearing what the team tells him and then regurgitating it without adding any depth. He leans into vibes and uses cliches instead of providing useful research. He talks about players needing a ‘reset’ or being ‘locked in’ as if they’re robots simply pushing a button.”

Schriffen’s tenure with the White Sox has been rocky since the beginning. In 2024, Awful Announcing readers voted the White Sox announcers as the worst in the league. The 2025 results were better but only marginally, with the White Sox ranking No. 27 of 30 teams. To compare, in 2023, when the primary announce crew was Stone as the analyst and Jason Benetti as the play-by-play voice, the White Sox were one of the best-regarded crews in the league, ranking sixth.