Editor’s Note: During SoxFest Live 2026, the Sox On 35th crew had the chance to interview several members of the White Sox organization as part of a Podcasters’ Row event. This is one story based on their conversations last weekend.
By the time October rolled around this year, with the Dodgers lifting their second straight piece of metal World Series Trophy, White Sox fans were ready to take a breath and get away from baseball for a little bit. It wouldn’t be crazy for broadcasters to feel the exact same way, especially ones who can’t turn off the TV and walk away during another 100-loss season.
This doesn’t apply to John Schriffen, however.
Sure, he took a break. He traveled. He trained for a triathlon. He called college basketball games. This winter, he even flew to Brazil just to attend a UFC fight as a fan without a headset or prep meetings. Just life away from the diamond.
But it didn’t last long.
“It was probably like three weeks after the season. It was like, ‘Damn, I don’t have White Sox baseball anymore,’” Schriffen said during SoxFest Live 2026. “About three weeks after the season, that feeling kicked back in of like, ‘Yeah, I wish I was back at the ballpark.’”
As he heads into year three of calling games for the White Sox, Schriffen doesn’t sound like someone grinding through a 162-game obligation. He sounds like any other fan counting down the days until pitchers and catchers report (four days, for those of us who are keeping track).
And for a rebuilding club trying to reconnect with its fan base, that enthusiasm matters.
Spring Training: Where the real work starts
For most of us, Spring Training means sunshine and autographs. It’s supposed to be a time where fans can connect with players at a deeper level than what the regular season offers, which many have shared with Schriffen as something they appreciate about their time at Camelback Ranch.
“A lot of fans tell me they love Spring Training because they can come by, they can hang out, and even when the players are walking towards or away from the fields, everyone will stop and talk and have a little conversation and sign autographs and take pictures, because it is not like the regular season – intentionally, you know?”
For Schriffen, however, it’s research season.
The prep goes deeper than opening up Baseball Reference to learn about the new players or reviewing the latest prospect rankings to familiarize himself with numbers 90-99 on the backfields. Anyone can read those. His job, he says, is to uncover the details fans can’t Google.
“You can read the articles. But White Sox fans read all the articles too,” said Schriffen when asked about how he starts prepping storylines for the next season. “My job is not just to read what everybody else reads. My job is taking it to the next level.”
For Schriffen, that means sitting down with players on their time, whether it’s in the morning during breakfast or after they come back from the fields when their day is done. Even just figuring out when he’s going to talk with the team gives Schriffen insight into who everyone is.
“That’s when you get to know them as people… even just their rhythm for the day. Every player has a different rhythm.”
Even in the smallest details, there are differences between calling a game and telling a story. It humanizes the players on the TV screen.
And for a roster that will once again skew younger in 2026, those relationships and stories will shape how fans come to know this next wave of White Sox players.
The importance of finding bright spots in tough times
Schriffen came in at one of the toughest times to do his job, following a couple of beloved broadcasters while trying to endear himself to a fanbase irate at a team setting the single-season record for losses. For Schriffen and his storytelling, it’s taught him the importance of taking the small wins and appreciating them as they come.
But for all the storylines he’s followed thus far, one has stuck with him the most:
Colson Montgomery.
A former top prospect whose confidence wavered, Montgomery trusted the White Sox to send him to Arizona, reset his approach, and rebuild his swing, all leading to a half-season that, in Montgomery’s own words, was the most fun he’s ever had in his life.
Schriffen admired the mindset as much as the production…
“It wasn’t just that approach. It was Colson Montgomery’s mindset of being willing to just be open to doing whatever it took to get himself back on track,” he said. “And I think that just says a lot about who he is as a person, right? Once he had his confidence back … you could see, ‘Okay, this is the dude we all expected him to be.’”
…but, like all of us, he’s excited for what may still come.
“And now it’s like, ‘Damn, if he had that second half last year, imagine what he can do in the full season,’ you know?”
These sorts of redemption arcs are clearly the fun ones for both fans and broadcasters alike. For the die-hards or the prospect nerds, they’re the types of breakouts everyone will be trying to predict in 2026.
The next wave he is watching
Ask Schriffen to predict the next breakout star, though, and he’ll push back, gently. He’s careful not to saddle young players with hype, whether fair or unfair, that they didn’t ask for.
Don’t get it twisted, though: this next wave of prospects only concerns themselves with what’s going on between the lines.
“I think what’s cool about this group of young prospects is that they don’t really listen to the outside noise. You know what I mean? They don’t really look at what people are writing about them or saying about them.”
Still, there are a few names that caught his eye, both new and returning faces.
There’s Luisangel Acuña, whose blend of speed and developing power should finally get an everyday runway after bouncing around with the Mets.
“He didn’t really have an opportunity there… there’s an opportunity for him in Chicago that wasn’t there in New York,” Schriffen said. “There’s a potential for power in that swing. He’s got the speed, he’s got the ability to play multiple positions.”
There’s the continued growth of Edgar Quero, who maximized limited playing time…
“He’s a dude who wasn’t getting, like, a lot of playing time necessarily per series, but when he was getting there, say, one out of three games, he was making the most of his opportunities.”
…or players like Chase Meidroth, who shrugged off mistakes with a veteran’s calm.
“That could be one of those moments [May 6, when a pop-up bounced off of Meidroth’s head in a 4-3 loss] that torpedo somebody’s confidence. But he came back the next day like it didn’t even happen.”
Then there are the storylines that weave themselves through all of these players: who’s in the starting rotation, who’s manning centerfield with Braden Montgomery not far behind.
Mostly, though, Schriffen is excited to watch a full season of reps.
“Go up and down the roster with the young prospects that got playing time last year, any one of them could have another big week or another big breakout, because I think for them, they just need more playing time, more experience, more confidence,” he said. “And to understand the ups and downs of a full Major League season.”
It’s a lesson, he says, even applies to himself.
“I mean, you guys saw it for me from my first year to my second year, there’s a big difference in just learning the rhythm of a full Major League Baseball season. And I think that’s the thing I’m looking forward to, just seeing these guys, what they’re going to go through in a full year.”
A broadcaster who sounds like a fan
Coming in as the replacement for a broadcaster who grew up a White Sox fan, who himself replaced a former White Sox player and broadcasting legend, Schriffen has one thing in common with his predecessors: he’s very much a true fan of this team.
He talks about storylines the way supporters do. He follows winter ball clips. He jokes about dream scenarios, like pairing the Acuña brothers on the South Side. He admits there’s only so much Netflix you can binge-watch before you start missing the ballpark.
And when asked for a 2026 hot take, he didn’t reach for a win total or a too-bold prediction.
Instead, he largely chose belief in the same players we all root for.
“I think the move is going to work out,” he said of the Sox taking a chance on Munetaka Murakami. “I love it when they take a chance like that.”
It’s a cautious optimism that fits a club still building. But, at the end of the day, it’s representative of the energy of someone who genuinely wants to be there, calling White Sox winners.
Which, on the South Side right now, is exactly the energy needed at the ballpark.
Some more fun from the interview
We ended our time with John with some rapid-fire questions. Here are some of the highlights:
- He would put Joe Buck first on his Mt. Rushmore of his favorite broadcasters: “He’s just, I think the versatility, right? Like, obviously he’s a baseball guy, but like, the versatility… Monday Night Football, various different sports. I think he’s got to be at the top of the list for me.”
- … but his partners, Steve Stone and Len Kasper, would also make that list.
- His favorite basketball game he’s called this year? Georgia-Tennessee. For those of you ready to fill out your March Madness brackets, John’s “official” advice is to keep an eye on Tennessee.
- He was willing to list Murakami having a strong season as his hot take because of the doubters – but as we’ve said, don’t count him among that group.
We want to thank John for taking the time for us in what was a busy weekend for all involved. He’s becoming a recurring guest of sorts and is a friend of the page, so we look forward to a great season with him on the mic, as well as the next time he joins us on the podcast.
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