A baseball season can drag on, especially for a losing team. So what better way to break up the monotony of August than to have Bill Walton announce a game.
Yes, we are indeed talking about the basketball Hall of Famer. And that’s just what the Chicago White Sox did for Friday night’s game in Anaheim, having the eclectic Walton do color analysis — we use the term loosely — alongside play-by-play man Jason Benetti.
As you might expect, hilarity ensued. Walton was equal parts excitable, confused and confusing. The result was a must-watch broadcast.
Bill Walton put on a SHOW last night https://t.co/YNbxViYMJe
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) August 17, 2019
Bill gets excited
Here’s a collection of clips of Bill getting excited about: Mike Trout’s home run, a White Sox grand slam and a squeeze bunt. Those are of course good things to get excited about, by the way.
Bill Walton enjoys a Mike Trout home run.
“That’s Trout? Swimming upstream, avoiding all the flies, and sending one ricocheting through the universe.” pic.twitter.com/PlcwPIBT3A
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) August 17, 2019
Bill Walton can now add “call a grand slam” to his Hall of Fame resume.
🔊 ⬆️— Stadium (@Stadium) August 17, 2019
Bill on bunts: “BRILLIANT” pic.twitter.com/ISYVSLQ8Iq
— Cut4 (@Cut4) August 17, 2019
Bill gets confused
But some other baseball happenings had the basketball Hall of Famer a bit confused. He didn’t seem to understand why you can’t have a triple play when there’s already one out. There was also the misguided excitement over a routine fly ball and his, um, interesting way to describe how to tag someone out.
Bill Walton wanted a triple play with one out. Said the outs should carry over to the next inning.
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) August 17, 2019
Bill Walton’s fly ball call is electric @barstoolchicago pic.twitter.com/2kdvGZKGur
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) August 17, 2019
Bill Walton explains how to avoid a tag pic.twitter.com/8S75uddKvi
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) August 17, 2019
Bill is brilliant
All in all, you’ve got to call the White Sox’s experiment a success. Their broadcast indeed was all over social media Friday night and into Saturday morning, and Walton proved to be a good listen, even as he transitioned from changeups to volcanoes.
Two thumbs up, White Sox, and a Grateful Dead standing ovation for you, Bill.
Ladies and gentlemen, the best of @BillWalton! pic.twitter.com/bO4pDravg1
— White Sox Talk (@NBCSWhiteSox) August 17, 2019
