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Jason Benetti Tabbed As White Sox TV Play-By-Play Man For Home Games

(CBS) The White Sox have tabbed sportscaster Jason Benetti to be their television play-by-play man for home games, they announced Wednesday.

Longtime play-by-play man Hawk Harrelson is taking on a reduced workload this season. He'll call road games and three home games -- the home opener and the Crosstown Classic games against the Cubs on July 25-26. Benetti will pair with color analyst Steve Stone to call the rest of the home games. Benetti will also call the White Sox's games against the Blue Jays in Toronto in April in place of Harrelson.

"Joining the White Sox television team of Ken Harrelson and Steve Stone – with the chance to work with Steve on home games – is truly a dream come true for a kid who grew up in the south suburbs watching Sox games during the 1990s," Benetti said in a statement. "This is beyond exciting for me."

Benetti agreed to a multi-year deal. Harrelson and Stone also renewed multi-year contracts, the team said. Harrelson is entering his 32nd season in the booth, while Stone is entering his ninth.

A 2005 graduate of Syracuse, Benetti has been a play-by-play announcer for ESPN for the last five years, calling college baseball, basketball, football and lacrosse. Previously, he was the play-by-play man for the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs.

Benetti's also a former intern of the Boers and Bernstein Show on 670 The Score.

 He's a Chicago area native and graduate of Homewood-Flossmoor High School.

"Jason is one of the top up-and-coming voices in sports television," White Sox senior vice president of sales and marketing Brooks Boyer said. "He is a home-grown talent who will mix a love for the game with a deep knowledge of the White Sox and an informative and entertaining style. We believe Sox fans will immediately connect with his humor, intellect and personality."

Benetti was born with cerebral palsy, and he's become a prominent voice within the CP community. He helped launch the Cerebral Palsy Foundation's "Just Say Hi" in 2015, and he's made a point in his career to persevere and not be defined by his disability.

"The way I look or walk is such a small part of who I am as a person," Benetti said. "I like to joke that fortunately, I chose a profession where all I needed was my voice, not my legs. I have always felt that if I can help one other person or if I can help change one person's attitude about how they perceive others, then I have made a positive difference."

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