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LOS ANGELES — In the news that isn’t really news department, broadcaster Joe Davis will be back with the Dodgers in 2017, if not longer.
Davis was hired by the Dodgers last November and though the details from the team were scarce he did in fact sign a multi-year deal through at least next season. This hasn’t exactly been a secret, as it was reported back in November by several, including the LA Times and Sports Illustrated.
The length of Davis’ contract just hasn’t been a topic talked about that much this season, though it became relevant again during Wednesday night’s broadcast, when during the fifth inning Davis was telling analyst Orel Hershiser about his smoker during the cold winters at his home in Grand Rapids, Mich., and Hershiser mentioned that Davis and his wife Libby would be moving to Los Angeles during the offseason.
This is the logical move for the Dodgers, especially with Vin Scully retiring after the 2016 season. I’m sure they didn’t plan on hiring the 28-year-old Davis as a short-term move.
Back in January, Davis offered his perspective on following Scully.
"You have to recognize that nobody will ever replace Vin, nobody that's living or nobody who has been born yet,” Davis said. “I don't think putting any pressure on myself does anybody any good. It doesn't do the listeners any good, it doesn't do the people I'm in the booth with any good. I can't do anything other than try to be the best me that I can be. I can't try to be Vin, or try to be what people want to hear.”
Davis, who will call a total of 50 road games for the Dodgers this season, has been a breath of fresh air on the broadcasts. He is an excellent game caller on play-by-play, and his chemistry with analysts Orel Hershiser and Nomar Garciaparra during the broadcasts, especially with Hershiser, is apparent.
Davis is a self-proclaimed “broadcasting nerd,” well versed in both the history of his profession and the sport, but also willing and open to discuss new ideas and modern baseball analysis.
The Dodgers haven’t announced their official post-Scully television plans, but it seems pretty obvious that Davis will be the full-time TV play-by-play announcer. The club announced multi-year deals with the radio team of Charley Steiner and Rick Monday in April.