Blue Jays manager John Schneider has a bone to pick with Fox announcer Joe Davis. Davis himself knows what people think about his World Series calls. He’s learned to live with the criticism at this point. When asked if remains attentive to what’s being said, Davis said, “I try not to.” But this time, Davis has no choice but to listen to what Schneider has to say about him.

The World Series demands neutrality. The 2025 World Series once again belonged to the Dodgers. But during stretches when it looked like Los Angeles was losing, Dodgers fan Davis repeatedly leaned on some unimportant old story.

“So that was when the Dodgers were losing. He just wanted to fill the air because when they were winning, he was going crazy.” Schiender said on Foul Territory.

Still, that doesn’t mean Schneider dislikes Davis. He has no doubts about his talent behind the mic. “He’s got one of the best voices in the game. I love his energy. He reached out to me before it even started. We saw him for three days in LA, and he told me, “Hey, if you get to the postseason, I’m going to cover you.” I got all the respect in the world for him. He’s really cool. I think he’s great at what he does, but I had to get that out there as a little subtle jab. A little jab.”

Joe Davis was at the center of controversy throughout this year’s Fall Classic. During the World Series, when Bo Bichette blasted a three-run homer off Shohei Ohtani to give the Blue Jays a 3–0 lead, Joe Davis’s reaction came off deflated.

In fact, in Game 5, he downplayed Trey Yesavage’s historic performance. The Dodgers were trailing 3-1 in the fifth inning when Yesavage notched his 10th strikeout. It was marked as a historic milestone that made him the youngest pitcher to record double-digit strikeouts in World Series history. It was a moment worthy of celebration. Yet, all Davis had to say was, “And Trey Yesavage has 10 strikeouts.” That bare mention sounded flat.

The fact that Davis was hired as an alternate play-by-play commentator for the Dodgers in 2016, fans felt they had every reason to accuse him of bias. And this time Schiender didn’t hold back either.

But what does Davis have to say on these claims? Interestingly, when speaking on the Awful Announcing Podcast last month, Davis responded to claims of Dodgers bias.

Joe Davis stayed off X to avoid being exposed to criticism from Blue Jays fans

Let’s say, Joe Davis knows fans will be upset regardless of how he calls games involving the team he also covers locally.

After the Blue Jays’ World Series heartbreak, he appeared on the Awful Announcing Podcast to address these claims. When host Brandon Contes asked him if he pays attention to the criticism, he said,

“I try not to. I know it’s there. One of the best things I did before my first World Series was delete my Twitter. I think I still have the account, but I gave my agent the password and said, ‘Change it. I’m deleting it from my phone. If we ever need to get into it, we can.’ So, I don’t hunt for it because I get it. It comes with the territory. These are exciting, highly emotional times as fans. It’s what makes sports great—that we all get a little irrational at points. Dodger fans are going to be upset that I get excited for the other team. The other team’s going to be upset I’m the Dodger guy.”

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Apparently, Joe Davis went straight from calling Game 7 of the World Series on FOX to hosting the Dodgers’ championship parade at Dodger Stadium just two days later.

Chris Russo and Ariel Helwani both criticized Davis over that move. In Mad Dog Unleashed on SiriusXM, Russo blasted Davis for coming off as a Dodgers homer rather than an objective national broadcaster.

Meanwhile, Helwani, the well-known MMA journalist and longtime Blue Jays fan, also weighed in during an episode of The Ariel Helwani Show. He had an issue with the Dodgers’ parade celebration. His comments were primarily aimed more at players like Kiké Hernández than at Davis himself. Still, the criticism was already widespread enough that Davis was clearly aware of it coming from multiple angles.

Davis has balanced local and national roles since becoming FOX’s lead MLB play-by-play announcer in 2022. Along with that, he continued to serve as the voice of the Dodgers on SportsNet LA. He took over as the Dodgers’ TV play-by-play announcer in 2017. That dual responsibility has him calling Dodgers games all season. Then, of course, he shifted to a national role in the postseason. That time, he was expected to remain neutral. However, fans and analysts believed he fell well short of it.