What does Dodgers' Stephen Nelson hire mean for Joe Davis broadcast schedule?

Los Angeles Dodgers fans have long been blessed in the broadcast booth. While no fan worth his salt had any interest in ever moving on from the legendary Vin Scully (and the additionally legendary Jaime Jarrín en Español), Angelinos are at least secure in the knowledge that the broadcasting world still revolves around their fair city thanks to the work of Joe Davis.

Davis, still just 35 years old, is a throwback phenom who commands the room with the voice of a far older man and the insight of a seasoned professional. He's been a generous steward of Scully's booth, but his talent has also ensured that the Dodgers will always be forced to share him with the rest of the country.

Not just the heir apparent to Scully, Davis is also the official heir to Joe Buck on national broadcasts for both the World Series and NFL Playoffs. That's why the Dodgers were forced to open up the books and signal to the bullpen for some additional relief this offseason.

Over the weekend, the team welcomed MLB Network's Stephen Nelson to the broadcast booth in LA, and while he's not replacing Davis by any means, this move does have the assumed effect on 2023 scheduling.

Nelson, also just 33 years old (!), will call "more than 50" home and road games for the Dodgers in 2023. Davis, returning for his eighth season in Los Angeles, will cede those games to Nelson.

Dodgers add broadcaster Stephen Nelson to TV family. What does this mean for Joe Davis?

Hey, something had to be done, and Nelson, Kevin Millar's co-host on MLB Network's "Intentional Talk" and someone who cut his teeth on AppleTV+ broadcasts last summer, is a pretty excellent sub to have in the rolodex.

Luckily, Davis isn't departing his dream job. He's just handing over the mic on days when he literally cannot physically grab it. This isn't an example of a star growing too big for "Saturday Night Live," like Eddie Murphy bolting and passing the torch to ... well, no one could really follow Eddie, but still. Davis will still be around plenty, unless the NFL has tapped him on the shoulder and tabbed him for a riotous Week 3.

Davis expressed, upon re-upping his contract, exactly how much this duty still means to him:

"It is what I’ve dreamt of. If you had asked me as a kid what I want to do, I would’ve said, ‘I want to call the World Series. I want to call the biggest games on the biggest networks.’ The NFL stuff, last week was my first NFL playoff game, and man it was incredible."

- Joe Davis, via MLB

Nelson's going to get 50-odd opportunities to shine, but Davis clearly plans to take full advantage of the other 110. Either way, there's no booth quite like this one.

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