Joe Davis honors Vin Scully and Kirk Gibson in his call of Freddie Freeman's walk-off grand slam against the Yankees in Game 1 of the World Series. Photo Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
FoxMLBBy Reice Shipley on

Friday’s Game 1 matchup of the World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees was one of the most highly anticipated World Series games in recent memory given the popularity of the two teams.

And the game didn’t disappoint, with a storybook ending for Dodgers fans that was capped off by a call from Fox play-by-play man Joe Davis that honored the late great Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully.

Scully’s career was filled with memorable calls. But for Dodgers fans, the first call that likely comes to mind from Scully is of Kirk Gibson’s legendary walk-off homer during Game 1 of the 1988 World Series.

Well, Dodgers fans got hit with a bit of nostalgia at the end of Friday’s Game 1 matchup. With the bases loaded in the bottom of the tenth inning and two outs, the Dodgers trailed 3-2 with Freddie Freeman coming to the plate.

Freeman went on to have the signature moment of his tenure in Los Angeles, if not his entire career, taking Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes deep to right field for a grand slam to emphatically give the Dodgers a 1-0 series lead.

On the call of the biggest hit of the season for the Dodgers, Joe Davis referenced Scully’s call of the Gibson walk-off in several ways.

“Freeman, hits a ball RIGHT FIELD. SHE ISSSS GOOOOONE! GIBBY, MEET FREDDIE! GAME 1 OF THE WORLD SERIES!”

Not only did Davis mention Kirk Gibson directly in his call. But the call itself is eerily similar in numerous ways. The “She is gone” part comes directly from Scully’s original call, on top of Gibson’s home run also going to right field.

Here is the side-by-side of the two calls from Davis and Scully respectively.

Like Scully, Davis let the moment breathe by not saying too much, which is a true art form for any play-by-play man when a big moment like this happens.

Davis of course has a long way to go to match Scully’s illustrious broadcasting career. But for this moment in particular, Davis received a ton of praise for the call from fans and media members alike who tuned in.

“Play-by-play symmetry between Joe Davis & Vin Scully on a pair of World Series Game 1 walk-off homers to right field at Dodger Stadium, 36 years apart. Poetic & perfect,” wrote Royals play-by-play broadcaster Jake Eisenberg on X.

“Joe Davis with an all-time call, too,” wrote Connecticut Sun play-by-play man Brendan Glasheen.

“5/5 call for Joe Davis,” wrote Andrew Marchand, a sports media pundit for The Athletic.

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About Reice Shipley

Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.

View all posts by Reice Shipley