The million-dollar question during the NLDS between the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers is: What is going on with FOX broadcaster Joe Davis??
Davis, the primary play-by-play man for FOX Sports and SportsNetLA (for the Dodgers’ home games), has been dealing with some voice issues (lost his voice), and did not call the Game Three contest between the Braves and Dodgers on Tuesday night. Kenny Albert stepped in for Joe Davis on Tuesday evening, but on Wednesday, Brandon Gaudin will be on the call for the pivotal Game Four.
Brandon Gaudin is the primary play-by-play announcer for the Atlanta Braves on Braves Vision.
He’s replacing Dodgers play-by-play broadcaster Joe Davis, who will miss a second straight game because he’s under the weather and lost his voice
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Reactions to Brandon Gaudin Being on the Call for Dodgers-Braves Game Four
Here is what people are saying across social media about Joe Davis not being on the call for Dodgers-Braves NLDS Game Four, and Brandon Gaudin being inserted in his place:
AwfulAnnouncing.com’s Sam Neumann wrote (about the Gaudin decision):
“An Atlanta native who grew up a Braves fan, Gaudin called the job “the realization of a childhood dream” when he took it, and this season he called the club’s games on BravesVision, its new in-house TV home. Now he’ll handle the national call of a postseason game involving that same team, in a series where Davis, the Dodgers’ local voice on Spectrum SportsNet, spent the first two games in Los Angeles fielding complaints that he was favoring his club.”
Does the Game Four Broadcaster Impact the Team’s Chances of Winning?
The answer is no.
No matter what speculation you see on the internet, the play-by-play broadcaster has no impact on the game at hand, and their job is to announce what they are seeing on the field.
There was some outcry that Joe Davis wasn’t that emphatic in the Game 2 win for the Braves, but perhaps it was because his voice was starting to fade, which makes a lot of sense now.
The Dodgers’ other play-by-play man during the regular season (Stephen Nelson) recently wrote (Via X.com):
“Joe D’s voice box has been hanging on since his last regular-season series on SportsnetLA. IMO, the national convo about supposed bias and call quality is silly when he’s healthy. It’s been especially misguided recently given he simply has not been able to let it rip on calls.”
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Why Is Brandon Gaudin Calling the Dodgers-Braves NLDS Game Tonight? Where Is Joe Davis?