Filling the shoes of a legendary broadcaster like Vin Scully is certainly not easy, but the Los Angeles Dodgers absolutely got the right man for the job in Joe Davis.
Davis took over the lead broadcaster role for the Dodgers after Scully retired at the conclusion of the 2016 season, partnering with Orel Hershiser to make for a seamless transition.
Since Davis began on the job, the Dodgers have had countless memorable games and moments, and his calls have fit the bill every single time. When asked about his favorite, one clearly stands out above the rest.
Davis’ answer may have been a bit surprising to some, but not to those who watched every game in 2019, especially on Sept. 22 against the Colorado Rockies. A topic of conversation between Davis and Hershiser all season long was about Hyun-Jin Ryu hitting a home run.
When he finally managed to do so, Davis had no choice but to yell in joy as the ball cleared the right-center field fence: “It’s happened! It’s happened! Babe…Ryu,” making for his favorite call since taking over for Scully, via Ken Gurnick of MLB.com:
“There have been so many incredible moments of the last few years, the team’s been so good, I don’t know if this would be my best call for a resume reel or an Emmy,” said Davis. “But the most special, the most fun, was Ryu’s home run.
“The call is, whatever, not a spectacular call, but Orel [Hershiser, analyst and Davis’ partner] and I had jokingly talked about it the entire season. You could go back to Opening Day [which Ryu started], and we were predicting he would hit one. Those of us who are around batting practice see how he swings, and we would joke every time he came up that this would be the time, and then it actually happened. It’s the only time Orel and I both stood up and high fived, just the incredible feeling it had actually happened.”
What makes that moment even more memorable is that it was one of Ryu’s final games as a member of the Dodgers. He signed a four-year contract with the Toronto Blue Jays in the offseason so will be headed to the American League where he won’t get the opportunity to swing the bat that often.
Regardless, Davis’ perfect call of an awesome moment is just one of many examples of why the Dodgers selected the perfect person as Scully’s successor.
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