Dodgers’ Joe Davis And His Most Memorable Calls, Best Social Moments, And More
He was, and for all intents and purposes, will always be The Voice of the Dodgers.
There is absolutely no question, and rightfully no debate that Vin Scully is and will always be beloved by the baseball world, most especially the many generations of Dodger fans. For many of us, Dodger baseball is a needed escape from the real world, and whatever your path here or your tenure as a fan, Vin has likely at some point in your journey helped calm you down from a rough day, made you smile as he cooed over a small child, or perfectly captured how you were feeling about a moment…sometimes without saying anything at all. You’re likely of the popular opinion that we definitely “needed him more than he needed us” over the years.
But like all great things, his time in the Dodgers broadcast booth came to an end last October, a week after we were gifted with one last dramatic Dodgers comeback and heart-stopping walk-off, called with his trademark perfection. We all knew the end was coming, yet still teared up at the sound of his voice, and likely always will. Quite simply, Vin Scully will never be replaced.
If we are lucky in the course of our lives, we are fortunate to meet even one true love who truly gets us, regardless of time or distance, and whose presence or voice will always feel like coming home. For the even more fortunate, this special type of lightning will strike twice, bringing a second special soul into our lives, not to replace the first, but to teach us even more about ourselves and share magical moments with. For a new generation of Dodgers fans, lightning has indeed struck twice, and his name is Joe Davis.
One of the wonderful things about Joe is that he made it clear right from the beginning that he was not replacing Vin, that while he was committed to doing his best for Dodgers fans, he would definitely be doing his own thing. He clearly did his research on the team, building on a 2016 season in which he became familiar with the organization by doing road games, while quickly and effortlessly relating to fans in such a way that it didn’t take long to feel that we were watching the games with a couple of friends, a pair of buddies, in him and Orel Hershiser. His absence was noticeable, to say the least, on games where he was away doing college football for Fox.
Joe is finished with the Dodgers for this season, excitedly and quite handily doing playoff play-by-play for Fox, but we know he is watching and cheering along like the rest of the far reaching nation of Dodgers fans. And so, as a tribute to him and his impeccable first full season as the new voice of the Dodgers, may I present what I believe to be his best calls in the Dodgers booth..so far.
Having seen all of the Dodgers games this year thanks to the wonders of MLB TV, I heard every one of his calls, so memorable and special that without having to look anything up, I was easily able to list 5 calls and identify them by their “catchphrase”.
April 29 vs Phillies, “Absolute madness!”
June 20 vs Mets, “Cody Bellinger, you are ridiculous!”
July 6 vs Arizona: “Moment after moment, memory after memory, the Dodgers have done it again!”
July 26 vs Twins: “The Dodgers have done it again! Beyond belief!!”
Aug 16 vs White Sox: “Not a question of if…the question is who, and when. Tonight it’s Puig, in the 9th!”
And of course, as interacting with and being accessible to fans on Twitter and Instagram also soon became a special quality of Joe’s, here is a small sampling of a few of his tweets during the season:
This is like the most fun I've ever had in my life.
— Joe Davis (@Joe_Davis) August 17, 2017
Lose yourself, @OrelHershiser. pic.twitter.com/6WOuV4NR4g
— Joe Davis (@Joe_Davis) June 30, 2017
Joe, this season was definitely the most fun many of us have had in our baseball lives. Thank you for being a big part of why. Follow him on Instagram and Twitter!
Gail, I love your writing. As soon as I started reading article and started to get the “feelz” I could tell who wrote it. Your piece on just enjoying watching Kershaw be Kershaw had me teary eyed, and the way you get what is most enjoyable about baseball (the passion and memories it leaves behind) is amazing.
I also thought Joe killed it season one, and I hope he stick around for a long, long time. I grew up in LA, and moved to San Francisco for college. While I was there, listening to Vin Scully on radio or by watching games (with MLB.tv of course) made me feel like I was home. I moved back to LA a few years back, and now have just moved again, this time to Seattle for work. I can’t wait for next year to have Joe and Orel, the rest of Dodgers broadcasters and the Boys in Blue take me home a few hours a day in the summer!
Jay, thank you so much for your kind words. The Dodgers and baseball do bring out a lot of emotions in me and I’m ecstatic that I am able to share those feelings with other passionate fans like you. Thanks again; I really appreciate the note. Go Dodgers!
So well written. We love you Joe!