The Habsburg monarchy of Austria fought the Ottoman Empire so often in early modern Europe, it’s hard to keep track of their many wars, sieges, and military clashes.
Fortunately, we have Jason Benetti to sort things out.
The quick-witted Detroit Tigers play-by-play man turned a baseball factoid (Riley Greene’s 1.663 OPS wearing the Tigers’ City Connect jerseys) into a historical reference about the year “the Austro-Turkish war started” during the first inning of the Tigers’ game on Monday, Sept. 21 against the Washington Nationals.
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Behind the scenes, the Tigers’ broadcast production crew was feeling equally sassy.
Benetti’s booth was still reacting to his obscure historical reference when an astute cameraman and director panned to a Comerica Park advertisement featuring one word: GEEK.
“Thanks, Andrew,” Benetti deadpanned.
Credit to Benetti for knowing his history. He’s not wrong. He could also be right if Greene’s OPS were 1.716, 1.788, or perhaps several numbers beginning with 1.5 — the Turks and Austrians fought often during the 16th century, even if those skirmishes were not bequeathed the same name by historians.
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At the end of the day, who cares? The Tigers and Nationals have been eliminated from playoff contention. A meaningless September baseball game was gifted a viral moment because of a quick-witted broadcaster who did his homework — and a director and cameraman whose comedic timing demand a Netflix special.
Benetti is more famous as the lead national play-by-play voice of NBC‘s Sunday MLB broadcasts, and previously a voice for NFL, college football, and college basketball telecasts on Fox.
As anyone fans unfamiliar with his work learned Monday, Benetti’s versatility is not limited to sports.
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