The New York Mets are finally playing like the payroll they boast. But their early-season downfall is too glaring to ignore as they continue to sit at the bottom of the NL East despite their recent wins. However, calling that out on national TV in a careless remark has brought nothing but backlash for a Dodgers announcer.

As the Mets faced the Yankees for the Subway Series over the weekend, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ play-by-play announcer Joe Davis was on FOX Sports, calling the game. Davis’ comment on a Carson Benge misplay, which quickly went viral, drew all the wrath of fans in Queens, including WFAN Radio host Evan Roberts.

“I think he’s a Dodger fanboy. I think he wants to just make love to Shohei Ohtani every time he talks about him,” said Roberts on WFAN. “I just get that from him, and I don’t know, I wish it would stop. He’s a great broadcaster, and I’ll admit it. But for now, I think Joe Davis is a Dodgers shill, and it’s obnoxious.”

Davis leads the play-by-play announcements of FOX Sports’ MLB coverage. He has also been the voice of the Dodgers since 2016. But his ties with the Dodgers organization have now brought allegations of bias from Roberts.

Davis has also seen the rise of multiple Dodgers stars during his time with the franchise, including the exceptional Shohei Ohtani. And his admiration for the Japanese phenom is no secret. He famously described Ohtani’s historic 3-homer, 2-steal, and 10 RBI game as something one “couldn’t even make up in a Hollywood script.” During this game on September 19, 2024, Ohtani went 6-for-6 and became the first MLB player to record 50 homers and 50 steals in a single season.

Though Roberts tried to praise Joe Davis for his announcing skills, his love for the Dodgers is apparently too big to ignore.

Roberts also compared Davis with Joe Buck. Buck began his career in broadcasting, calling games for his hometown baseball team, the St Louis Cardinals, in 1991. Roberts believes that Buck would never show any bias in a national broadcast despite his connection to the Cardinals.

“He was mocking us,” Roberts said about Davis. He then added, “I am not one to do this because, again, I thought Joe Buck was great. I never thought Joe Buck was rooting for or hated the Yankees or hated the Mets. I always thought that was BS. I never thought Joe Buck did that; I think Joe Davis does. I think he’s a Dodger fanboy.”

Alongside Roberts, a former WFAN host also joined the fest, tearing into Davis. Sal Licata went as far as calling him a “biased Dodger blue fool.”

“You’re doing a national broadcast. You can’t be unbiased?” remarked a clearly frustrated Licata. “‘Oh no, the Mets,’ it wasn’t oh no, the Mets, it was a rookie making a terrible play. Get on him just like I did. That’s what you should do, not ‘oh no, the Mets.’ Get lost, Joe Davis.”

The Mets are stumbling through the season. However, they appear to be on the road to recovery. After ending April with a terrible 10-21 record, they are currently 11-5 in May. They swept the Tigers and clinched the Subway Series, 2-1.

During their early-season downfall, the Mets announcers did not hold back from calling the team out either. When the Colorado Rockies swept the Mets during a three-game set in April, Mets announcers Gary Cohen and Ron Darling addressed the team’s terrible performance. This included manager Carlos Mendoza’s failures on SNY.

“There are no scholarships at the big-league level, particularly for a team that has one of the highest payrolls in the history of baseball,” Cohen had remarked at the time. “And I know that managing is a much more delicate operation than it used to be, but at some point, you gotta call people out.”

As the controversy around Davis’ remark unfolded, the Dodgers’ announcer revealed that he tries not to pay attention to such criticisms. Probably the best course of action for him. Meanwhile, let’s have a look at what Davis actually said.

What did Joe Davis say on the broadcast?

With the Mets leading 5-2, Cody Bellinger sent a routine fly-ball towards right-center field at the top of the seventh on Saturday. At the time, the Yankees captain, Aaron Judge, was on second base.

The rookie Mets’ right fielder, Carson Benge, tracked the ball but dropped it, allowing Judge to score on the error. Bellinger advanced to second on the misplay. Following the fielding gaffe on Benge’s part, Joe Davis made the infamous remark.

“Benge drops the ball!” Davis said, reportedly. “Oh no! Oh no, the Mets!”

Perhaps, with his “Oh no, the Mets!” exclamation, Davis wanted to sum up their struggles in the past month. However, the remark did not sit well in New York. As the controversy peaked, Davis revealed that he tries not to get bothered by the allegations of the Dodgers’ bias.

“And I get it. I’m not going to win. If that’s my scoreboard — trying to please people on that — I’m going to drive myself crazy,” Davis said, according to Awful Announcing. “So, I know it’s there. I’m not burying my head in the sand, but I do my best not to get bothered by it.”

He has been on the receiving end of such criticism before. Davis previously faced heavy backlash for prematurely calling a Dodgers win against the San Diego Padres during the 2024 NLCS. He has also received criticism for hosting the Dodgers’ championship parade at Dodger Stadium after calling the World Series Game 7 on FOX Sports.

Davis is not new to criticism, but if he continues to make such comments on national television, he will have to get used to the noise.