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The Los Angeles Dodgers announced last week the addition of play-by-play broadcaster Joe Davis to the Time Warner Cable SportsNet LA television booth. Davis, 27, will call 50 road games during the 2016 season.
He has not been named by the Dodgers as a successor to Vin Scully, nor is it a label Davis attempted to place on himself.
The Michigan native spoke at length with DodgerBlue.com, during which he detailed his career path, learning from Vin Scully, and more.
Included below are additional excerpts from the interview with Davis that did not appear in the featured story.
Where did the desire to broadcast games originate?
Joe Davis: “It probably first started with watching and listening with a discerning ear, realizing that it’s something I was interested in, in junior high. The first guy I remember really listening to was Gary Thorne on the old NHL on ESPN back in the mid-90s. So I guess that would be when I really started paying attention to play-by-play guys. It kind of guided my decision-making as I went into high school and into college, knowing it’s what I wanted to do.”
Was the interest solely in broadcasting or writing as well?
“I thought a little bit about [writing] when I was in junior high and high school. I knew I wanted to be involved in sports journalism, but I think that my answer had I been asked to tell you at any point, I would’ve told you I wanted to be a play-by-play guy.
“There’s always been some interest in the writing side as well. I did some of that for the school paper and things like that. I think writing is the foundation for any broadcaster. So, regardless of whether or not that was something I wanted to do, I saw the value in doing it to build that experience.”
Advice for aspiring broadcasters
“Anybody who tries getting into this business and has aspirations to do this, not that I’ve got this long career of advice to draw from, but the I advice I do give them is to get into Minor League baseball play-by-play because there’s nowhere else you can go to get those kind of reps.
“It’s 140 games in 150 days, usually solo. There’s just no other place you can do that, and that’s everything when you’re first starting out.”
CONTINUE READING: Joe Davis Grateful For Reaction From Dodgers Fan Base, And More
