Schriffen in good place for Year 3 in White Sox booth

This story was excerpted from Scott Merkin’s White Sox Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

CHICAGO -- It took Chase Meidroth six pitches on Opening Day to leave a 417-foot imprint upon the 2026 White Sox season.

A high-intensity follow-up delivered by John Schriffen, the television play-by-play voice of the South Siders on Chicago Sports Network (CHSN), arrived immediately thereafter.

“It goes 3-2. This one is drilled to left field. Bauers looking up. Let’s go!” Schriffen bellowed on the broadcast after the startling leadoff homer from Meidroth against Jacob Misiorowski. “That is how you start 2026. Chase Meidroth with a bomb.”

Schriffen’s home-run call represented the reaction in the moment of White Sox fans from Milwaukee to Chicago, high-fiving and boisterous. Schriffen’s high-energy excitement has been embraced by supporters of the team in his third season on the job. There are others who don’t go all-in for that broadcasting style.

• Schriffen draws on childhood experience as MLB's sole Black TV play-by-play announcer

Almost no announcer, in any sport, gets a 100 percent approval rating -- but don’t look for Schriffen to change. Not when the 2026 White Sox enter the season with optimism and confidence, regardless of their 1-3 start. And not when Schriffen feels a “night and day” positive difference from Year 1 to Year 3 in his comfort level.

“Everyone is allowed to have their opinion,” Schriffen told MLB.com during an interview in Milwaukee. “I think because the first year I was trying to get people to like me so badly, I got to the point where I know what I do, I know what I can bring to the table and I’m excited with what’s happening within the organization.

“You focus on those things. There’s always going to be critics and people won’t be happy with whatever it is. That’s what is great about sports: We are allowed to have an opinion. It’s focusing on what I can control and not worrying about the outside stuff.”

Steve Stone, who has been one of the best analysts in the business for over five decades, enters his 19th season as a White Sox broadcaster. Gordon Beckham, who is working during the Marlins series, and Dan Plesac also lend their expertise, as will Brooke Fletcher and Connor McKnight via their strong pregame, in-game and postgame roles.

There’s a talented village putting together nightly efforts on White Sox broadcasts. Schriffen also has reached out to fellow accomplished broadcasters such as Jason Benetti, who he replaced in the White Sox booth.

“I’ve talked to Jason. I’m thrilled for him to be the voice of Sunday Night Baseball. He’s earned it,” Schriffen said. “He’s one of the best voices in the game and he’s a great guy.

“He’s helped me with just my process and understanding that even a guy at his level, he’s constantly tweaking the way he goes about his business and the way he changes how he prepares for games. That helped keep me grounded in understanding that if a guy that level is continuing to change things, I can continue to tweak things every year as well.”

Year 3 for Schriffen marks the final year of his current contract. But the affable announcer, who also broadcasts college basketball for ESPN and handles UFC events, isn’t worried about the future.

“That’s where you get in trouble,” Schriffen said. “Even talking to baseball players, if you try to get ahead of what’s in front of you, where your feet are right now, you lose sight of what’s going on. That’s the beauty of where we are.

“I get to come to the ballpark every day. Whatever happens in the future, that’s going to happen. All I can control is being prepared, bringing the energy and having a great relationship with everybody around me. And with that, keep going.”

Keep going with a familiar level of excitement for a team and fan base he truly cares about.

“No, that’s me, right?” Schriffen said. “And you can see, there was a difference in both home run calls [Thursday]. Meidroth’s home run was ‘Oh my goodness, let’s start this season with a bang. I’m excited.’ The [Munetaka Murakami] home run call [in the ninth], was ‘Wow, look at the power this guy brings but we are down. Let’s hope we can continue this with a positive taken from this game.’

“I’m just ready for Year 3. The first two years were getting my process down, the rhythm of Major League Baseball, the White Sox, understanding this incredible city. Now, I have that process down and it’s building a better foundation with Stoney. Building a better foundation with Brooke and Connor and other guys I’ll be sharing the booth with. Getting involved with the fans more.

“Whenever you can feel more comfortable, you can now start branching out into other things,” Schriffen added. “That’s what I’m looking forward to most this season.”