Before he was Fox's lead MLB announcer who calls the World Series every year, Joe Davis was just a kid enjoying the spectacle of October baseball. One of the people who Davis considered seminal in his journey as a baseball fan-turned-broadcaster was Joe Buck.
With Buck accepting the Ford C. Frick Award for major contributions to baseball at the Baseball Hall of Fame this weekend for his work when he was an announcer for Fox, Davis took an opportunity to tell a heartwarming story about how Buck was a role model for the sort of announcer he wanted to be when he grew up. These days, Buck is the lead play-by-play commentator for ESPN's NFL broadcasting, most of which features him voicing the Monday Night Football package of games. Davis took over
for Buck as Fox's lead MLB announcer when he took the job at ESPN in April 2022. Davis is also the lead play-by-play commentator for the Los Angeles Dodgers, taking over for the legendary Vin Scully, becoming his official long-term replacement in 2017.
What a wonderful way to pay simultaneous tribute to your predecessor and one of your role models:
Joe Davis: "I remember pointing to the TV (during a World Series) and saying, 'That.' I want to be just like him. I want to be like Joe Buck... I knew exactly what I wanted to do, who I wanted to be like."⚾️🎙️ #MLB pic.twitter.com/Tt6JbA9N6c https://t.co/o1UhwmGElo
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 26, 2026
This is the sort of impact all of us should aspire to make with whatever we do; where, somewhere, a kid takes inspiration from your actions and example. Kudos to Buck for doing that for Davis, and kudos to Davis for sharing the vulnerable story of how much a broadcasting titan like Buck pushed him to eventually become an announcer synonymous with big games, too.
How long has Joe Davis been with Fox?
Davis has been with Fox Sports since 2014. At the time of this writing, he is Fox's No. 2 play-by-play announcer behind the network's lead, Kevin Burkhardt, who calls games with his color commentator partner, Tom Brady.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Joe Davis told a heartwarming story about how he idolized Joe Buck as a kid
