The legendary Bill Walton will serve as the color analyst on NBC Sports Chicago alongside play-by-play man Jason Benetti when the White Sox play at the Los Angeles Angels next Friday. Walton will fill in for usual color man Steve Stone.
"Doing a game with Bill Walton is a gift," Benetti said. "His mind is a playground, an orchestra and a volcano all rolled into one. It is impossible to think of someone who takes the audience and his broadcast partner on more of a journey through the world, and to have that next to me is an honor and a treat."
A Hall of Fame basketball player, Walton has become one of the most iconic color analysts on college basketball broadcasts, beloved for his philosophical meanderings, off-the-map tangents and genuine appreciation of life, which he just happens to express while calling a game. How that translates to a baseball broadcast is anyone's guess, but Walton has a history with Benetti. The two called six games together at the Maui Invitational last November, during which they became a hit on social media for their odd interactions.
At one point, Walton asked Benetti if Benneti's father played for famous UNLV coach Jerry Tarkanian. Benetti dryly responded that his father was an air traffic controller.
"How cool would it have been, though, if your dad had played for Jerry Tarkanian?" Walton said.
The press release announcing Walton's cameo in the White Sox broadcast fit the occasion, as it was quite absurd.
It read:
"This epic, monumental and historic upcoming event of the double millennium," Walton, found in the desert, in the middle of a massive lava flow, on his bike, on yet another hard climb said. "Whoa! The pressure is on now, but please, set your standards higher, Jason. And here I thought all along I was a trembling and exploding rainbow, morphing into a bus stop. I guess I’m going to have to reinvent myself one more time.
"Anyway, take me out to the ballgame, put me in Coach, I’m ready to play today. California, preaching on the burning shore, California, knock, knockin’ on the golden door. Please, where is the game, what time does it start, who’s playing, what sport is it, and what’s your name again? Give me a chord, and I’m on my way,” Walton said. “I hope the noise in my head is not bothering you."