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Detroit — Jason Benetti will be working with a lot of new faces this season.
But he'll also occasionally get to work with a familiar one, as is the case for the next "Sunday Night Baseball" broadcast, which will be on Easter at his home ballpark, Comerica Park, when the St. Louis Cardinals play the Tigers.
Benetti, in his third year as lead play-by-play TV man for the Tigers and in his first year as the lead guy on NBC's "SNB," will call the Tigers-Cardinals game alongside Detroit SportsNet colleague Andy Dirks. An NBC spokesperson confirmed to The News that Dirks and former Cardinals pitcher Brad Thompson will be the analysts for the Easter Sunday game.
In renewing its partnership with Major League Baseball this season, NBC is using a rotation of game-specific team analysts for "SNB" — a throwback to a format that was popular in national baseball broadcasts of yesteryear.
Essentially, rather than one staple booth team — like Jon Miller and Joe Morgan for all those "SNB" broadcasts on ESPN over the years — Benetti will call every game, but work with different analysts each week.
"The biggest complaint you hear during the postseason in baseball is, 'I can't hear my people. I can't hear my guys call the game,'" said Sam Flood, executive producer and president of production for NBC Sports. "It's the best way to know exactly what's going on inside each clubhouse, on the field, who's hot, who's not, and what matters most to the fans.
"We really want to honor that part of baseball."
Benetti, asked recently if it was a challenge to work with new analysts each week, shrugged off that idea.
"I think it's more fun than challenging," said Benetti, 42.
Dirks, 40, played outfield for the Tigers from 2011-13, before embarking on a post-playing-days career in real estate. He filled in on Tigers radio broadcasts in 2023, when the late Jim Price was battling illness. He was again in the radio booth in 2024, after Price died in August 2023 at the age of 81.
Dirks transitioned to the television booth in 2025, as one of several rotating boothmates of Benetti. He is back in that analyst role this season, and also doing pregame and postgame work for Detroit SportsNet.
Thompson, 44, pitched in the majors from 2005-10, mostly with the Cardinals. He's an analyst for the Cardinals on TV.
The Tigers-Cardinals game on Easter Sunday will be at 7 p.m., on Peacock. It also will mark Justin Verlander's first start at Comerica Park as a Tiger since August 2017, before he was traded to the Houston Astros.
The Tigers are scheduled to be on national TV at least 16 times this season, including on three of the first seven "SNB" broadcasts, including May 3 (Texas Rangers, in Detroit, on Peacock) and May 10 (at Kansas City Royals, on Peacock).
[email protected]
@tonypaul1984
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Detroit Tigers will have Andy Dirks as analyst for Easter broadcast
Continue reading...
But he'll also occasionally get to work with a familiar one, as is the case for the next "Sunday Night Baseball" broadcast, which will be on Easter at his home ballpark, Comerica Park, when the St. Louis Cardinals play the Tigers.
Benetti, in his third year as lead play-by-play TV man for the Tigers and in his first year as the lead guy on NBC's "SNB," will call the Tigers-Cardinals game alongside Detroit SportsNet colleague Andy Dirks. An NBC spokesperson confirmed to The News that Dirks and former Cardinals pitcher Brad Thompson will be the analysts for the Easter Sunday game.
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In renewing its partnership with Major League Baseball this season, NBC is using a rotation of game-specific team analysts for "SNB" — a throwback to a format that was popular in national baseball broadcasts of yesteryear.
Essentially, rather than one staple booth team — like Jon Miller and Joe Morgan for all those "SNB" broadcasts on ESPN over the years — Benetti will call every game, but work with different analysts each week.
"The biggest complaint you hear during the postseason in baseball is, 'I can't hear my people. I can't hear my guys call the game,'" said Sam Flood, executive producer and president of production for NBC Sports. "It's the best way to know exactly what's going on inside each clubhouse, on the field, who's hot, who's not, and what matters most to the fans.
"We really want to honor that part of baseball."
Benetti, asked recently if it was a challenge to work with new analysts each week, shrugged off that idea.
"I think it's more fun than challenging," said Benetti, 42.
Dirks, 40, played outfield for the Tigers from 2011-13, before embarking on a post-playing-days career in real estate. He filled in on Tigers radio broadcasts in 2023, when the late Jim Price was battling illness. He was again in the radio booth in 2024, after Price died in August 2023 at the age of 81.
Dirks transitioned to the television booth in 2025, as one of several rotating boothmates of Benetti. He is back in that analyst role this season, and also doing pregame and postgame work for Detroit SportsNet.
Thompson, 44, pitched in the majors from 2005-10, mostly with the Cardinals. He's an analyst for the Cardinals on TV.
The Tigers-Cardinals game on Easter Sunday will be at 7 p.m., on Peacock. It also will mark Justin Verlander's first start at Comerica Park as a Tiger since August 2017, before he was traded to the Houston Astros.
The Tigers are scheduled to be on national TV at least 16 times this season, including on three of the first seven "SNB" broadcasts, including May 3 (Texas Rangers, in Detroit, on Peacock) and May 10 (at Kansas City Royals, on Peacock).
[email protected]
@tonypaul1984
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Detroit Tigers will have Andy Dirks as analyst for Easter broadcast
Continue reading...
