Freddie Freeman hit the first walk-off grand slam in World Series history on Friday to give the Los Angeles Dodgers a 1-0 lead over the New York Yankees, and Fox broadcaster Joe Davis needed just six words to capture the moment. perfect:
“She’s… gone! Gibby, meet Freddie!”
Freeman’s grand slam was historically important in itself, but Davis also found a way to tie it into a very important piece of Dodgers history. Because while there has never been a walk-off grand slam in the World Series, there has been a walk-off home run by a hobbled first baseman in Game 1 of the World Series at Dodger Stadium.
Davis usually works as the play-by-play man for the Dodgers in the regular season, after taking over for the legendary Vin Scully in the 2017 season. Davis chose to honor Scully by borrowing his signature: “She’s gone!” home run call for Freeman’s grand slam.
He then went even further by comparing the moment to Kirk Gibson’s homer in the 1988 World Series, when the All-Star slugger pinch-hit in Game 1 despite injuries to both legs and walked against the Oakland Athletics Hall of Fame Fame closer Dennis Eckersley.
Scully’s shout of that homer was one of the best of his storied 67-year career: “She’s… gone! …. In a year so improbable, the impossible has happened!” You can see both calls overlaid here:
Davis and Scully both chose to let the moments breathe after their initial reactions, allowing the sounds of a cheering team and stadium to dominate. Davis waited a full minute before bowing to the aftermath:
“As it was on an October evening 36 years ago, a hobbled Game 1 hero for the Dodgers. Freddie Freeman hit a walk-off grand slam to win Game 1 of the World Series 6-3 over the Yankees.”
Davis even managed to reference a second call of the Gibson homer, like Jack Buck’s “I don’t believe what I just saw!” is also highly regarded in the annals of baseball broadcasting history. When Smoltz said the moment was hard to believe, Davis shot back, “Would you say you don’t believe what you just saw?”
What made the night even more special for the Dodgers was the man they represented with a patch on their jerseys. Dodgers legend Fernando Valenzuela, who was part of the 1988 team that won the World Series, died earlier this week.
The Dodgers honored Valenzuela with a moment of silence before the game, abandoning a first pitch by having Valenzuela’s teammates Orel Hershiser and Steve Yeager lay a ball on a mound painted with Valenzuela’s No. 34.
On the Dodgers Radio Network, play-by-play man Stephen Nelson made sure to point to Valenzuela and another legendary Scully call (“If you got a sombrero, throw it in the air,” to Valenzuela’s no-hitter in 1990) after his own reference to Gibson:
“Fly the ball, hit deep, back and away! Freddie Freeman channels his inner Kirk Gibson. A walk-off home run in Game 1 of the World Series! A grand slam! They celebrate at the plate, winners 6-3. And if you have a sombrero, throw it in the air. The Dodgers win game #1 for #34.”
It was a special night at Dodger Stadium, and the calls from Davis and Nelson helped extend that magic to the millions watching at home. That is the job of a broadcaster.
