Dodgers' Joe Davis Regrets One Thing About Shohei Ohtani Grand Slam Call

J.P. Hoornstra | Sep 6, 2024

Aug 23, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17), center gets a cooler of ice water dumped on his head after hitting a grand slam walk off home run for his 40th of the season in the ninth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Dodger Stadium. At left is translator Will Ireton and right is Sports Net LA reporter Kirsten Watson. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Dodgers play-by-play broadcaster Joe Davis is, by his own admission, his own toughest critic. He'll regularly re-listen to his own calls with scrutiny. Some he likes. Others he doesn't.

On Aug. 23, Davis was on the mic when Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani ended a 7-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays with a walk-off grand slam. It was a rare occurrence in baseball made even more special by the home team's best player in a clutch situation — and it clinched the first 40-homer, 40-stolen base season in franchise history.

Here was Davis' call: "Fly ball, right center field. Siri's going back, he's at the track, he's at the wall — 40-40, walk-off grand slam! No way! What a moment! History!"

In a new interview with Awful Announcing, Davis had an interesting revelation about his historic call: he didn't love it.

"I would like to do Ohtani's 40-40 grand slam again," Davis told Awful Announcing's Brandon Contes. "I don't know that I did anything wrong. I didn't mess it up. I wish I would have said his name within the call. Just for that historical soundbite, I think that it probably required his name.

"But I went back and listened to it probably 15, 20 times, trying to figure out how I could've done it a little better. I like to get a notepad out and write down ... what I said and, I don't know if workshop is the word, but nitpick it. And find where I could've gotten rid of words, how I could've timed certain things better. I would like to be able to do that one again."

Davis said he's been journaling his own soundbites since he was a minor league broadcaster straight out of college, calling games for the Montgomery (Ala.) Biscuits. He also relies on peer critique; Davis specifically mentioned that he relies on Dan Shulman, Gary Cohen, Wayne Randazzo, and Adam Amin, among others.

Davis' call of Ohtani's 40th home run of 2024 might not reside permanently in the Soundbite Hall of Fame, but it perfectly captured the emotion of the moment.

The Dodgers and their fans had been anticipating Ohtani reaching the 40-40 mark for weeks. When he did — in a clutch moment, with a game-ending grand slam — the words mattered less than the feelings. Dodger fans, at least, understood the significance of the home run when it left the bat.