When John Schriffen assumes the enormous responsibilities of the White Sox’s new television play-by-play broadcaster starting with the 2024 season, he has a significant objective and focus.
Avoid attempting to emulate Hall of Famers Harry Caray or Ken “Hawk” Harrelson, who both worked in the White Sox broadcast booth in the past. Don’t strive to be the nationally recognized Jason Benetti, the former White Sox television voice.
For 39-year-old Schriffen, the only objective is to be authentic.
Schriffen told MLB.com, “You can’t try to be somebody that you are not.” “Chicago sports fans are the smartest in the nation; they are shrewd and intelligent. They will perceive you as a fraud if you are attempting to pass for someone else.
That isn’t my identity. I don’t want to be that person. Nobody else can be me. As a broadcaster, I have a fervent, enthusiastic fan style. I’m going to contribute my enthusiasm and vigor.
After Benetti decided to skip the final year of his contract and join the Detroit Tigers, Schriffen and the White Sox reached an agreement on a multi-year contract. Hundreds of reels and resumes were submitted as part of a nationwide search for Benetti’s replacement; a sizable pool was narrowed down to applicants who were in-person interviews.
A larger group interviewed a chosen few candidates from the pool. For Schriffen, the process included several phone interviews as well as his first in-person visit to Guaranteed Rate Field, which was in Chicago. Additionally, he traveled to Phoenix from his residence in Las Vegas to have meetings with White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf and television commentator Steve Stone.
This previous Sunday, their dinner rendezvous was scheduled for one hour in order to gauge their potential compatibility. For Schriffen and Stone, it ended up being a three-hour transaction.
“We clicked right away,” Schriffen remarked. “Steve Stone is the greatest, as everyone knows.” The man is a legend in the baseball broadcasting world; he has done it all.
“I don’t know what will happen, but can I still stay in touch with you in the event that I don’t get this job?” That was my level of liking him. I informed him about the hiring, and he expressed his excitement to me, if not more so. That is the extent of his greatness as a man.
Although Schriffen’s play-by-play duties for a club are new, having worked for NBC Sports Chicago, he has a long career with several noteworthy stops along the way. He pitched for the baseball club while a student at Dartmouth College. Schriffen started off working for News 12 in New York, but had to switch to the news side in order to stay employed by the corporation.
This shift led to his employment from 2012 to 2014 as an ABC News correspondent located in New York, where he contributed stories for Nightline and Good Morning America. As part of the job, I traveled to Cordoba, Colombia, to report on animal trafficking.