Bill Walton’s baseball broadcasting career got off to an unusual start in the pregame show and he didn’t stop the weird fun once the game started.
For starters, he freaked out over the first swing of the game.
Unsurprisingly, there were plenty of Grateful Dead and Woodstock references on the broadcast. There was also a lot of ‘What did he just say?’ moments.
White Sox catcher Welington Castillo ripped a double to lead off the fourth inning and Walton referred to him as Usain Bolt. Yes, the White Sox catcher, not known for his speed, got compared to the multi-time Olympic champion sprinter.
“Look at him run, that is the epitome of Usain Bolt right there,” Walton said.
“Welington Castillo reminds you of Usain Bolt?” Benetti questioned his partner.
MLB
“The way he was flying down that basepath,” Walton said.
Later in the inning Yolmer Sanchez laid down a squeeze bunt to score Castillo and Walton had the excitement of a kid on Christmas morning.
“What offense! Brilliant,” Walton said. “This is a strategic victory.”
He made sure to sneak in another Castillo-Bolt reference.
“Usain Bolt crosses the plate and there’s nothing anyone can do about it,” Walton said as Castillo scored.
In the bottom half of the inning Lucas Giolito struck out the side. Walton excitedly asked what the record for most strikeouts in an inning was.
Mike Trout took Giolito deep in the fifth and Walton compared him to a fish.
“That’s Trout? Swimming upstream, avoiding all the flies and sending one ricocheting through the universe,” Walton said.
Then there’s this stream of words that really has no explanation.
He was screaming at routine fly balls and tried to add importance to every play.
“The fate of the known world is at balance here,” Walton said after an attempted White Sox double play turned into a fielder’s choice.
He also had some fun with Eloy Jimenez’s name.
“Is that a knock off of alloy? Putting all the powers together of the rare earth minerals to just come up with this incredible computer-generated stud for the future,” Walton said.
James McCann had a heck of a night. The catcher hit a grand slam in the eighth inning that was his third hit of the night. Walton wanted him in the Hall of Fame after that one.
Like it or hate it, this broadcast is one of a kind.
Click here to download the new MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the White Sox easily on your device.