ESPN's John Schriffen takes over as White Sox's TV play-by-play announcer

CHICAGO — The Chicago White Sox agreed to a multiyear contract with ESPN's John Schriffen to be their television play-by-play announcer.

The 39-year-old Schriffen replaces Jason Benetti, who took a similar job with the Detroit Tigers in November. Schriffen will call games with longtime analyst Steve Stone for NBC Sports Chicago.

“The White Sox, specifically, is very exciting for me just because of where the organization is,” he said Thursday.

Schriffen said it was exciting to learn of chairman Jerry Reinsdorf's passion for the team and baseball's history when they met in Arizona last weekend.

“The timing is right for me because I have done so many things in the course of my career in broadcasting, and the next step for me is to join a team, get to know the team better and really join a community and move to Chicago," he said.

Schriffen, who joined ESPN in 2020, has called select Saturday and Sunday games for ESPN radio’s MLB broadcasts since 2022. He also works NCAA basketball, football, baseball and softball games as well as the NBA G-League and Summer League for the network.

Schriffen plans to call the majority of Chicago's games, though he did not have an exact number. He said the White Sox are his top priority, but he hopes to keep working for ESPN in the offseason.

“I am super excited about baseball, about learning Chicago, about this White Sox club that is forming together with all the young stars that are here,” he said.

Schriffen, who is biracial, joins Seattle's Dave Sims as the only Black TV play-by-play announcers. His grandfather, Alphonso Deal, was president of the NAACP's Philadelphia chapter.

Before joining ESPN, Schriffen was a studio host for the NFL Network, as well as a play-by-play broadcaster and sideline reporter for CBS Sports from 2015 to 2020. He worked as a New York-based correspondent for ABC News from 2012 2014, contributing reports for Good Morning America and Nightline.

Schriffen graduated from Dartmouth, where he pitched.