Oct 25, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman (5) runs the bases after hitting a grand slam in the tenth inning against the New York Yankees during game one of the 2024 MLB World Series at Dodger Stadium. Credit: Jason Parkhurst-Imagn Images
By Sam Neumann on

The 2024 World Series isn’t over, but Major League Baseball knows it will go down in history.

Each World Series has its moments, but no matter how the series between the Yankees and Dodgers ends, there’s always that fleeting memory of where you were — and who was on the call. Maybe Freddie Freeman’s walk-off grand slam from Game 1 fades if the Yankees pull off a comeback from down 3-0; maybe it doesn’t.

But Joe Davis’ call will never be forgotten — even if he’s critiqued it ten times over.

In a nostalgic nod to 1988, Davis reached back to honor the late, legendary Vin Scully. Scully’s “She is gone” call of Kirk Gibson’s walk-off homer in Game 1 of the ’88 Series is, after all, one of the most memorable calls ever made.

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

Davis didn’t just mention Gibson directly; his call echoed Scully’s in many ways. The “She is gone” line, lifted from Scully’s iconic call, was paired with Freeman’s home run going out to right field, just like Gibson’s.

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

But a bigger piece to that equation is melting the two calls together—and Davis did just that when he uttered, “Gibby meet Freddie.” According to Sportico, Major League Baseball wasted no time in making sure that iconic phrase will be remembered, as MLB Advanced Media has already filed a trademark for it.

Here’s more from Sportico’s findings:

MLB filed the application for the phrase Monday, the first business day after Davis’ call of Freddie Freeman’s home run beat the Yankees, 6-3. According to information on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office website, the trademark would be used for everything from headwear and shirts to aprons, infant wear and “undergarments.”

Davis’ call — now immortalized by “Gibby, meet Freddie” — is a moment that will reverberate in baseball history. Regardless of how this series wraps up, you can’t tell the story of Major League Baseball without it.

And whether the Dodgers seal the title or the Yankees script a comeback, that phrase will forever be one of Davis’ defining moments in the broadcast booth.

[Sportico]

About Sam Neumann

Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.

View all posts by Sam Neumann