Detroit Tigers pitcher Jason Foley (68) celebrates striking out Tampa Bay Rays center fielder Jose Siri (22) during the ninth inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. Detroit Tigers pitcher Jason Foley (68) celebrates striking out Tampa Bay Rays center fielder Jose Siri (22) during the ninth inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024.
By Sam Neumann on

The only thing better than a team that’s made an incredible run in a pennant race is when said team has the soundtrack to match it. We’re referring to the Detroit Tigers, of course, who have been blessed with the pipes of Jason Benetti to take viewers at home all aboard for this recent stretch run.

The Tigers plucked Benetti out from underneath their division rivals, the Chicago White Sox and he’s gone quite literally from worst to first. Right now, he could be with Steve Stone, seeing the White Sox set an MLB record for losses. Instead, he’s along for the ride with his new team, which is amidst one of the greatest pre-playoff runs in the sport’s recent memory.

And Detroit won yet again, locking down a 4-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays with the playoffs and a Wild Card berth very much in sight.

Benetti delivered on the Bally Sports Detroit local broadcast during a go-ahead sac-fly in the eighth.

And he delivered again when Tigers closer Jason Foley locked down the door in the ninth.

“A city that doesn’t care about the odds has a baseball team to match.”

Man, what a call.

As the Tigers embark on a remarkable run toward the playoffs, they reflect the grit of a city that refuses to be defined by its struggles.

Benetti captured that spirit beautifully — and many notable sports media figures agreed.

Even former Wisconsin Badgers star Sam Dekker, who is married to a sideline reporter in Olivia Harlan-Dekker and is the son-in-law of Kevin Harlan, chimed in.

Never, ever tell anyone from Detroit—or Benetti—the odds.

In 159 games as the voice of the Tigers, Benetti has emerged not just as a soundtrack but as a vital thread in the fabric of the team’s second-half resurgence. And as the Tigers keep winning, we can be sure that Benetti will keep making the calls that live up to the moment.

Just like Tarik Skubal, he’s delivered every time he’s been called upon.

Even if you don’t root for the Tigers, pulling for Benetti is easy. He has a knack for pulling the right strings and knowing what the moment calls for—and Thursday’s moment called for a touch of grit and a dash of poetry.

[Detroit Tigers]

About Sam Neumann

Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.

View all posts by Sam Neumann