Fox announcer Joe Davis is catching heat from New York media and Mets fans after his call during Saturday's nationally televised Mets-Yankees game. The controversy erupted in the top of the seventh inning when a rookie error on a fly ball allowed Aaron Judge to score. Davis's reaction—"Oh no! Oh no, the Mets!"—has been labeled as obnoxious and biased, reigniting debates about impartiality in national broadcasts.
New York sports radio hosts Evan Roberts and Sal Licata didn't hold back. Roberts called Davis "a clown" and a "Dodgers shill," accusing him of being a fanboy for the Los Angeles Dodgers. "He wants to just make love to Shohei Ohtani every time he talks about him," Roberts said on his show. Licata went further, telling Davis to "get lost" and calling him a "biased Dodger blue fool." The criticism comes amid broader scrutiny of announcers' loyalties, similar to recent NASCAR announcer Mike Joy firing back at Stephen A. Smith's claims.
Licata didn't stop there. "You're doing a national broadcast. You can't be unbiased? 'Oh no, the Mets,' it wasn't oh no, the Mets, it was a rookie making a terrible play," he fumed. "Get on him just like I did. That's what you should do, not 'oh no, the Mets.'" The Mets won that game and the next, but the anger lingers. Some fans even tied Davis's call to the Dodgers star Edwin Diaz tied to an illegal cockfighting ring in Puerto Rico, though that connection seems tenuous.
But is the outrage justified? Many in the wider MLB world think Mets fans are overreacting. One X user wrote, "Imagine being so soft as all Mets Fans are, grown men complain about 'Oh no the Mets' they gotta call Joe Davis a Dodger shill as if they had anything to do with that series. What a bunch of whiny, insecure losers!" Another added, "This is stupid to criticize Joe Davis as if people are unaware Joe Davis is a professional broadcaster and can serve two constituencies at once. The Mets error remark is a remark Mets fans think and say."
Davis, a veteran broadcaster, has called big moments before, including the Dodgers legend Davey Lopes, base-stealing icon of '70s dynasty, dies at 80, but this time his words struck a nerve. Critics argue his role as emcee at the Dodgers' parade last year—celebrating their World Series win—undermines his neutrality. "Don't go to the Dodger parade and be the emcee. It's a bad look," Roberts said. "You're sitting there as the national voice and now you're pom-pom waving at the Dodger parade."
Supporters counter that Davis was just reacting to a shocking moment—a rookie's blunder that cost the Mets a run. They say the call was no different from what any fan might say. One user dismissed the backlash: "Grown ass man offended by a joke about his team, who they themselves are in fact a joke." The debate highlights how sports broadcasting can feel personal, especially in a rivalry-rich city like New York.
For now, the controversy shows no signs of cooling. Mets fans want accountability, while Davis's defenders see it as much ado about nothing. Whether this changes how national announcers handle calls remains to be seen, but one thing's clear: in the Big Apple, loyalty to the home team runs deep—and a single phrase can spark a firestorm.
