‘Feels like home': Brooke Fletcher excited to extend family ties to Chicago White Sox as part of broadcast team
As a new member of the Chicago White Sox broadcast team, Fletcher has been at camp gearing up for the upcoming season and taking part in CHSN's spring training telecasts along with John Schriffen and Steve Stone.
And her family has ties to the Sox. Her father, Scott, played for the team in the 1980s and early 90s and her brother-in-law, Gordon Beckham, spent seven years with the Sox during his 11 seasons in the big leagues.
'It's been a little surreal,' Brooke Fletcher told the Tribune on Thursday at Camelback Ranch. 'Just thankful for the opportunity, just to be able to cover the White Sox and having the history with my family. It's been cool.'
Scott played parts of 15 years in the majors, including six seasons with the Sox from 1983-85 and 1989-91.
'The White Sox have always had a place in our family's heart,' Scott said in a phone interview with the Tribune on Friday morning. 'We love (Chairman) Jerry (Reinsdorf) and just being around so many of the White Sox people who are still there. Brooke put on her Instagram one time when she was young, she had her White Sox uniform on. So it was like, man, really blessed and you see how things come together sometimes.
'That's pretty special that it's worked out for her to be with the White Sox.'
Brooke's duties include providing in-game reports from near the dugout as well as pre- and postgame coverage.
'I'm just mainly excited to be able to share the stories and shine a light on this young group,' she said.
Fletcher will get the chance to do just that Sunday, working alongside Connor McKnight in the booth for the Spring Breakout prospects game against the Colorado Rockies at Camelback Ranch (4:05 p.m., CHSN). Pitchers Noah Schultz, Hagen Smith and Grant Taylor, shortstop Colson Montgomery and outfielder Braden Montgomery are among the players on the Sox roster for the event.
'Just so much talent,' Fletcher said. 'There are guys that might take a few seasons to get up to the bigs, and there are guys that are right on the cusp. There's a lot to look forward to.'
Fletcher's journey to the Sox included working as a host for 'The Rally,' serving as a sideline reporter for AppleTV+ on its MLB broadcasts and covering the Tigers, Pistons and Red Wings for Bally Sports Detroit. She's a sideline reporter for the Big 10 Network, aiding in their football coverage. And she hosts CHSN's program, 'The Chicago Lead.'
'She's worked very hard at it and I'm really happy for her and thank the Lord that she is where she is,' Scott Fletcher said. 'She's accomplished a lot, I told her she's accomplished a lot in a short time, and I'm really proud of her.'
Throughout camp, Fletcher has heard from folks who tell her they remember her father.
'Everybody's been so welcoming,' she said.
Fletcher said baseball 'feels like home.'
'I grew up going to the ballpark, watching my brother (Brian) play,' Fletcher said. 'I was working baseball tournaments — my dad held national baseball tournaments, I was working the front gate.
'Just understanding the lifestyle of it and also being a fan. I just love this game so much.'
Sox option Jared Shuster to Triple A
The Sox optioned the left-handed pitcher to Triple-A Charlotte before Friday's Cactus League game against the Cincinnati Reds.
'We had some guys ahead of him,' manager Will Venable said. 'We came in looking at him in the starter's role. We thought he looked good. We just have some guys ahead of him, and going to give him the opportunity to go to work and get back into reliever shape. He'll be an option for us at some point during the summer.'
Shuster has an 11.57 ERA in four spring outings (one start). He has allowed nine runs on 15 hits in seven innings with eight strikeouts and one walk. He had a 4.30 ERA in 39 appearances (four starts) for the Sox last season.
'His changeup was really good,' Venable said. 'I know that's something that he's been working on and is important to his arsenal. I thought he had a really good one and as we continue to see that velo tick up, I think it's going to play even better. I think that's part of the discussion with having him in the reliever role also, is to really get the velo up and play up the good changeup.'
Injury update
Right-hander Mason Adams left Friday's game with discomfort in his right elbow. He exited after issuing a walk with one out in the second inning.
Adams has a 4.91 ERA in four games (two starts) this spring. He has eight strikeouts, one walk and has hit two batters in 7 1/3 innings. The Sox said Adams will undergo further testing Saturday.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
24 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Braves vs White Sox game thread
The Atlanta Braves are set to face off against the White Sox in the finale of what has turned out to be an incredibly entertaining two games so far. Both teams have exploded with the bats, while both teams have also collapsed with their pitching. Hopefully, Hurston Waldrep can stop the hemorrhaging of runs that the Braves have been giving up as of late. If so, the Braves have a legitimate shot to win their eleventh game in their last fourteen contests. First pitch is at 7:15 EDT.
Boston Globe
2 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Red Sox are a lot better off than when they last saw the rival Yankees
Shortly thereafter, they found their footing — for real — and have put themselves in prime playoff position. 'We've made a lot of strides in the last two or three months, obviously playing much better baseball,' Trevor Story said. 'The time, the confidence, the momentum helps. You play good baseball for a long period of time, it's always good for the vibes and good for your confidence. That's where we're at right now.' Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Story is a great example. Prior to playing the Yankees for the first time, he was just beginning to emerge from a deep slump, from which the Sox were not sure he would recover. He was batting .217 with a .591 OPS. And since? Hitting .300 with an .861 OPS, one of the better shortstops in baseball. Advertisement Roman Anthony , in his first week in the majors the last time the Sox and Yankees met, has established himself as an on-base machine at or near the top of the lineup. Alex Bregman , injured in June, is back. Hot stretches from Jarren Duran , Wilyer Abreu (questionable for Thursday because of a tight right calf), Romy Gonzalez , Ceddanne Rafaela , and others offer length to the lineup. Advertisement On the pitching side, Lucas Giolito and Brayan Bello have become — in whatever order — reliable Nos. 2 and 3 starters behind ace Garrett Crochet . And setup man Garrett Whitlock , having knocked off some early-season rust after missing 2024, has a 2.13 ERA over the past two-plus months while working largely in a one-inning role. A club that was 9½ games behind the Yankees at the time of their first meeting was just one game back Wednesday (pending the outcome of the Yankees' game at the Rays). Zoom in and the Red Sox have lost seven of their last 10 games. Zoom out and they are 31-23 since they most recently saw the Yankees (a stretch that coincides with the trade of Rafael Devers ). The Yankees were 26-29 in that time. 'Definitely excited. Two really good teams getting after it,' Bregman said. 'I feel like we can switch [the momentum] with one swing of the bat or one pitch or one play on defense.' Related : Bregman is no stranger to an intense Yankee Stadium environment, having served as a face of the Astros during those teams' heated matchups for the better part of a decade. He has played 24 games in the Bronx in the regular season (plus eight in the postseason). He said he is '100 percent' excited to see this version of a rivalry against the Yankees. 'It was tough being out early in the year,' he said. 'I'm very thankful to be back.' If jockeying for position in the American League East and wild-card standings wasn't enough, an extra layer of importance: Even a split of this four-gamer would clinch the season series for the Red Sox, who then would own the tiebreaker for postseason purposes. Advertisement As the rotation turns The Red Sox are keeping their starting pitchers in line for the series, which works out great for them, because they have their top four set up. Thursday: Giolito (3.63 ERA) vs. Luis Gil (5.14); Friday: Bello (3.23) vs. Max Fried (3.26); Saturday: Crochet (2.43) vs. Will Warren (4.25); Sunday: Dustin May (4.59) vs. Carlos Rodón (3.24). Managing Narváez In managing Carlos Narváez's workload generally, and occasional sore left knee specifically, how important is it to Alex Cora to give Narváez a complete day off when he is out of the lineup? Revving up to play even a couple of innings — especially when the knee requires daily physical treatment and sometimes causes a limp — can work against the purpose of sitting out. 'It's important, but it's not needed,' Cora said. 'We're going to play every game to win it, so if we have to hit for Connor [ Wong ], we'll play [Narváez] at the end.' The Sox have inserted Narváez as a late-inning replacement twice in the last 10 weeks. Campbell sent down The Red Sox demoted reliever Isaiah Campbell to Triple A Worcester but did not announce a corresponding move, leaving a roster spot open heading into Thursday. Available pitchers on the 40-man roster include Richard Fitts , who was scheduled to start for the WooSox on Thursday but who has intrigued team officials as a bullpen option … Marcelo Mayer had his season-ending right wrist surgery, the Red Sox announced. It was performed by Dr. Matthew Leibman at Mass General-Brigham Hospital … Justin Slaten , who struck out the side in his rehab debut with Worcester on Tuesday, is due to continue his minor league work after a shoulder-induced layoff of almost three months … Pitching prospect David Sandlin's conversion to reliever hasn't gone great. In five appearances with Worcester, he has an 11.12 ERA and 2.47 WHIP. He has, however, shortened his between-games rest periods to as little as one day … The annual Oldtime Baseball Game in Cambridge — a fundraiser for The Boston Home, a nonprofit residence and national resource for adults with advanced neurological disorders, primarily multiple sclerosis — was postponed to Thursday. Milton native Rich Hill is slated to participate (as a hitter and fielder) less than a month removed from his most recent major league appearance. The game is at 7 p.m. at St. Peter's Field. Advertisement Marcelo Mayer in good spirits post wrist surgery (📸: IG/ marcelomayer_10) — NESN (@NESN) Tim Healey can be reached at
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Sean Murphy back in lineup for Braves
The Atlanta Braves and their red hot offense will be looking to outscore the White Sox yet again. The Braves have scored twenty runs in their last two games, and it does not seem to be a fluke that the Braves are suddenly proficient at runners crossing the plate. The Braves have been one of the hottest position player groups in MLB since the All-Star break. The Braves are fourth among all MLB teams in terms of fWAR with 6.0. Of course, fWAR factors in defense as well so how about wRC+? Since the break, the Braves are sixth in MLB. If we look at total runs scored the Braves are third with only the Brewers and Blue Jays scoring more. If we look at total hits the Braves are seventh in that timeframe. It is clear, the Braves' bats are hot. It appears that Marcell Ozuna has earned his spot back as the everyday DH, so the daily question has turned to who the starting catcher will be. The other question would be where Ozzie Albies will be hitting in the lineup against a lefty SP. Sean Murphy will be getting the start tonight and Ozuna will stay at DH and hit cleanup. Ozzie Albies will be in the sixth spot tonight, which is good since he has had success against Martín Pérez. No Braves player has a large sample of at-bats against Martín Pérez. Matt Olson leads the team with thirteen at-bats but has struggled. He only has a .385 OPS. Ozzie Albies has crushed him. Albies has a .778 average and 2.445 OPS. Albies only has nine at-bats, but even in a down year for him, it would be a safe assumption that Pérez is aware that Albies has been his Achilles when he faces him. Ozuna has also seen success in five at-bats with a .600 average and 1.750 OPS. A fun piece of trivia is that Nick Allen has the third best OPS against Pérez with a .777. No White Sox player has ever faced Hurston Waldrep before at the MLB level. Waldrep has been on a role since he has been called up. He has pitched 17.2 innings while maintaining a 1.02 ERA, 0.792 WHIP, and a 3.40 SO/BB ratio. His expected ERA (xERA) has also been very good at 2.90 showing that even with some regression to the mean, he will still be a very good pitcher if he pitches like he has been. First pitch is at 7:15 EDT.
