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MLB

Bill Walton to serve as color analyst for upcoming White Sox game

Jason Rowan
| August 9, 2019

Bill Walton is a treasure, the best the sports world has to offer when it comes to far-out, eccentric, charismatic oddballs. Now, the Grateful Dead-loving commentator will be given an opportunity to let his broadcast talents shine on the MLB stage when he serves as color analyst for an upcoming Chicago White Sox game.

Walton will be part of NBC Sports Chicago’s coverage of the White Sox’s Aug. 16 game against the Los Angeles Angels. Making Walton’s appearance on the telecast that much better is how he will be reunited with Jason Benetti.

The duo were behind some truly remarkable broadcast theater while covering college basketball’s Maui Invitational last November. For those who missed it, Twitter took notice, for obvious reasons.

“There is nothing more entertaining than working with the neural fiesta that is Bill Walton,” Benetti previously said of working with Walton. “I’m over the moon about it. When he said yes, there was a fist pump.

“I think it’s amazing. I left Maui having done six games in three days with Bill, and it was a rapturous experience. My mind fired in ways that I never could have imagined simply from being next to him and following the conversation and thinking, ‘Should we do the game right now, or should I follow up with the thing that he just said?’ It was all over the map in the most entertaining way.”

There’s a good chance that the Walton-Benetti reunion will make for arguably the most surreal baseball telecast in recent memory.

It also merits noting that Walton just recently made his trademark unique impact upon Major League Baseball when throwing out the ceremonial first pitch before Thursday’s San Diego Padres-Colorado Rockies game at Petco Park.

Shine on, you crazy diamond.