The Detroit Tigers are in a rut and local sports media veteran Pat Caputo is taking it out on Jason Benetti, Andy Dirks and J.K. Simmons.

Tigers fans seemingly got the better end of the deal when they welcomed Benetti to Detroit from the Chicago White Sox broadcast last year. And with Dirks joining Benetti as lead analyst, both announcers relished the opportunity to have some fun in the booth. Caputo might say, too much fun.

Earlier this week, Caputo fired off a few sarcastic posts on social media to imply he was growing tired of the act. And Caputo confirmed that feeling during a crosstalk segment with Mike Valenti and Rico Beard on Detroit’s 97.1 The Ticket.


“I’ve had enough of this, I’ve had enough,” Caputo ranted. “It’s a baseball game and it’s always fun to have fun at a baseball game. But it’s not the Friars roast. Okay? It isn’t. It’s not the friggin’ Friars roast with a mic up there. And the game is on TV…And enough of J.K. Simmons!”

Simmons, a Tigers fan, has made several appearances in the booth this season, which is several appearances too many for Caputo to handle.

“There is a way to be humorous and to be clever. It’s another thing to just whatever the hell that is. And the team is getting flamed right now! The ratings aren’t up because of the comedy act. The ratings are up because the team is the best team in baseball,” Caputo continued. “They want the team to win, I get it. And Jason Benetti is obviously talented, and Andy Dirks is really good at what he’s doing, but he’s getting sucked down this rabbit hole…Andy Dirks is a former baseball player! He’s not Norm Macdonald, okay? He’s not Norm friggin’ Macdonald! He’s not Carrot Top!”

Scroll through our archives and you’ll see headlines about the Tigers broadcast pretending to be golf announcers, or talking “seamin” on the hands, hot mics, White Lotus, Coldplay, and a cast of other topics that are ancillary to the game. But rest assured, Benetti does actually call the game. And usually, the social media reaction implies fans like the balance. But not Caputo, and certainly not when the Tigers are on a brutal losing streak.

When the Tigers are playing well, it’s easier for fans to embrace the jokes and hijinks. But when the Tigers are playing poorly, fans want to know the announcers are suffering with them. They want the announcers to call out when a team is playing poorly. And on the heels of the Tigers losing 10 of their last 11 games, Benetti and Dirks are apparently having more fun in the booth than Caputo cares to see or hear.