Joe Buck had a very fitting home run call when he returned to the MLB booth for Thursday’s Opening Day game between the Milwaukee Brewers and New York Yankees.
Buck served as the play-by-play announcer for ESPN’s broadcast of the Brewers-Yankees game at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, N.Y. It was the first time since he left FOX in 2021 that Buck called a nationally televised MLB game.
The Yankees got out to fast start in the bottom of the first inning when leadoff hitter Austin Wells ripped a home run to right field. As the ball cleared the wall, Buck had a very familiar call.
“That is ripped into right. Back at the wall, see ya!” Buck exclaimed.
The first Yankees batter of the 2025 season hits a home run.
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 27, 2025
Joe Buck gives this Austin Wells homer a "See Ya!" call on the ESPN broadcast, a la Michael Kay. ⚾️🎙️ #MLBpic.twitter.com/7tlpVTgW8c
Buck sounded a lot like longtime YES Network announcer Michael Kay, who is known for his signature “see ya!” call when the Yankees hit a home run. It was not a coincidence that Buck used the same phrase.
Buck was a guest on Kay’s ESPN New York radio show Wednesday, and the two discussed Buck using Kay’s signature call. Kay also hinted during the YES Network pregame show on Thursday that he expected Buck to bust out a “see ya!” if given the opportunity.
That opportunity came very early in the game, and Wells made all kinds of history with his homer. Wells became the first catcher in MLB history to blast a leadoff home run. He was also the first catcher to ever bat leadoff for the Yankees. Perhaps most surprising, Wells was the first ever Yankee to hit a leadoff homer on Opening Day.
Buck’s appearance in the MLB booth was a one-off for the 55-year-old announcer, whose primary focus is “Monday Night Football.”
