It seems there is always something going on with Chicago White Sox announcer John Schriffen. But this time instead of drawing the ire of fans, he has gotten in hot water the team itself.
Schriffen debuted as White Sox announcer in 2024 and noticeably struggled in the job. He was even heavily criticized by media colleagues in the Windy City, launching into an explosive feud with radio hosts at 670 The Score. Thankfully, the 2025 season was much quieter for the embattled play-by-play voice, but the White Sox crew still finished 27th out of 30 teams in last year’s MLB announcer rankings.
But now that the 2026 season is here, John Schriffen is back in the headlines for ominous reasons.
According to a report from Jeff Agrest at the Chicago Sun-Times, Schriffen “sent shockwaves through the Sox’ offices this week after he bestowed a potentially racist nickname on Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami.”
Schriffen called Murakami the “South Side Samurai” after a hit against the Marlins earlier this week, drawing an outsized reaction from analyst Gordon Beckham on the Chicago Sports Network telecast.
Agrest reports that White Sox officials were not pleased with the nickname, so much so that it is not expected to be used again for the risk of potentially offending viewers.
John Schriffen is in the final year of his contract with the White Sox to be their television voice. Given this is the same franchise that let Jason Benetti (who just made his debut as the voice of Sunday Night Baseball on NBC) walk away to their division rival in the Detroit Tigers, this is not a franchise with a great recent history when it comes to their broadcast booth.
And if Schriffen is finding himself in trouble with both the fanbase and his team bosses, the White Sox might be looking for yet another lead announcer soon. Is it too late to get Hawk Harrelson out of retirement?
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