For Jason Benetti, who was at Wrigley Field to do play-by-play on NBC’s “Sunday Night Baseball,” the news of Stacey King’s death was personal.
“It’s the first thing I think of,’’ said Benetti, who, as an alternate on Bulls telecasts, worked alongside King, the former Bulls player and beloved color analyst. “We used to do the Nationwide [Insurance] jingle on the White Sox, me and Steve Stone. So I went and did a Bulls game with Stacey, and he was like, ‘OK, your turn to do the jingle.’
“I was like, ‘Will you sing it with me?’ He said, ‘No, no, no, you do it.’ So I sing, and he’s like, ‘Uh, no, JB, here’s how it is.’ And he sang it in that dulcet R and B kind of way that he did. He nailed it. Like, man, that was such a trap.’’
Benetti did play-by-play on White Sox telecasts from 2016 to 2023, becoming full-time in 2019. He was called upon to fill in on Bulls games and was paired with King, who died suddenly at the age of 59, the Bulls announced Sunday. No cause of death was given.
“I did maybe around 30 games, OK?’’ Benetti said. “The way he treated me, and the way he treated everybody around, I mean, he wanted a partnership, even if we did just one game with him. That’s what I will also think about with Stacey, how truly welcoming he was to somebody who he’d never been around before.
“When [Bulls regular play-by-play man] Adam [Amin] was off doing football, and I was done with the White Sox [season], I did some weekend games at the beginning of the year. Stacey just ended up being a really good friend and he didn’t have to be. He could have just done the game and gone home and all that.
“And then he’d be signing autographs for almost an hour after a game.’’
Then there was the time Stacey did color on a White Sox telecast, under unique circumstances.
“He and Adam did a White Sox game from the NBC Tower in 2021, when I was off doing football and Stoney was off for whatever reason, so they went into the NBC Tower and did a White Sox game, except there was like a 2 1/2 hour rain delay. I mean, that’s just how much Stacey just liked being around it and performing and all that. I mean, it was remarkable. He loved Chicago.’’
Benetti grew up in the south suburb of Homewood, so he knew of King long before meeting. He was a fan of the Bulls’ championship teams of the ‘90s. King played eight seasons with the Bulls, winning three consecutive titles (1991-93).
“You know, it’s hard to be the headliner when Michael [Jordan] and Scottie [Pippen] are there, right?’’ Benetti said. “You know, the weirdest part for me was I grew up in a video generation when, like, the first basketball games were coming out for Nintendo and Super Nintendo, you know.
“[Stacey] was one of the first guys I worked with. I told him, ‘I played as you in a video game, when I played as the Bulls.’ Stacey King was somebody who would make an 8-foot jumper, run down a loose ball, or whatever was needed. It was like, ‘Oh, I watched you play.’ The Jordan Bulls were a big reason, I think, that a lot of people in Chicago were sports fans. And I’m sitting there right next to championship royalty.
“He didn’t wear it on his sleeve, but you knew he was part of something big. I’m gonna miss him, a lot.’’
Baserunning mistake dooms Cubs
A rookie mistake cost the Cubs dearly in the eighth inning of their 2-1, 10-inning loss to the Giants on Sunday night. Kevin Alcantara entered as a pinch runner after Moises Ballesteros drew a one-out walk, then alertly went from first to third when pitcher Erik Miller fielded Michael Busch’s dribbler down the first-base line and threw it over first baseman Rafael Devers’ head. Alcantara just beat the throw from second baseman Luis Arraez, who was backing up the play.
But later, Alcantara bolted toward the plate before making sure Alex Bregman’s liner cleared the infield. It didn’t. Devers made the catch and easily doubled Alcantara off third. Ian Happ struck out to end the inning.
