Bill Walton joined his frequent college basketball broadcast partner Jason Benetti to call Friday night’s White Sox-Angels game in Anaheim. Benetti is Chicago’s play-by-play man for NBC Sports Chicago, and usual color commentator Steve Stone is taking the four-game series off, so NBC Sports Chicago is going with guest broadcasters for each game of the four-game series (Michael Schur will join Benetti in the booth on Saturday).
And through the first four innings of Friday’s game, the Walton baseball commentary has been as interesting as you’d imagine.
The Walton wackiness actually began pregame, with the basketball legend talking through the go-to-commercial music and having fun with Ozzie Guillén.
https://twitter.com/NBCSChicago/status/1162540263014916096
Then the game started, and on the second pitch, Walton celebrated a Leury García foul ball that was hit straight back.
Walton also went wild at routine flyballs.
https://twitter.com/Cut4/status/1162559658462273536
He hoped for a triple play when the White Sox had one out in the bottom of the first. When Benetti informed him that’s not possible, Walton asked, “Well you can carry it over (to the next inning), can’t ya?”
The 1978 NBA MVP called very slow White Sox catcher Welington Castillo “the epitome of Usain Bolt,” after Castillo scored on a bunt single in the fourth inning.
He worked in a Viagra reference:
And of course a reference to “getting high”:
[NBC Sports Chicago]