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Dodgers announcer Dontrelle Willis thanks fans after final broadcast of season

Successful Year 1, D-Train!
Adam Weinrib
Adam Weinrib

Dodgers Way

Florida Marlins v Pittsburgh Pirates / George Gojkovich/GettyImages

UPDATE: D-Train's not done! The legend himself responded by alerting Dodgers fans that the team informed him he's on the books for two more calls this season.

Let's. Go.

Year One of Dontrelle Willis and Stephen Nelson on Dodgers calls was an unmitigated success, but based on limited scheduling, the ride appears to have come to a temporary stop this week.

After Nelson and Willis fused their fun-loving attitudes with yet another Dodgers win in the desert on Wednesday (how 'bout those Diamondbacks?!), the ex-MLB pitcher took to Twitter to thank the fans who'd supported him during his first season in the regional booth, while also announcing he'd just made his "final" call of the season.

Willis, well-known by a national audience for his studio work with FOX Sports (and, of course, his quirky windup and dominance with the mid-2000s Florida Marlins), went froman advisor role with the Dodgers to the broadcast booth on a truncated schedule midway through 2022.

2023 represented his first year working alongside Nelson, who was brought in from MLB Network this past offseason in order to take some pressure off Joe Davis as his national profile rose.

The two certainly couldn't have received a much better finale than Wednesday, as the Dodgers sent the Diamondbacks under .500 with a clean, 2-0 victory (while Walker Buehler revved up for a potential late-season return).

Dodgers fans give love right back to Dontrelle Willis after final game of 2023

In a heartwarming twist from the typical toxicity of Twitter (sorry, "X"), Willis' mentions overflowed with fan praise after he announced he'd be away from the Dodgers' booth for the remainder of the season.

Those compliments truly ran the gamut, from promising Vin Scully's approval to pitching Willis as an eventual permanent replacement for Orel Hershiser (not just yet, though, they're both great!).

Bottom line? Dodgers fans want more of Willis' youthful energy, but might have to get used to sharing him with a national crowd. After all, talent like this can't help but transcend boundaries.

But without Willis, who's going to tell us when a pitch is “middle middle, absolutely, super duper”?

Adam Weinrib

Adam Weinrib

Adam Weinrib is a Content Director on the FanSided network, and has been the co-editor at Yanks Go Yard and Dodgers Way for 4 years. He also co-hosts The Baseball Insiders Podcast twice weekly, alongside FanSided MLB insider Robert Murray, as well as the Yanks Go Yard Podcast. Previously, he was a Senior Editor at 12up.com, and has been covering MLB and NFL for eight years. Previously, he was a headline and features contributor at ClickHole and Onion Sports, as well as the Associate Producer of the ESPN 30 for 30 film "Believeland". An avowed fan of the New York sports teams -- specifically the Yankees -- as well as the North Carolina Tar Heels, you can find Adam complaining mid-game on Twitter, as well as on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn if the game goes really poorly.