Phillies broadcasts on NBC Sports Philadelphia are going to look a little different in 2026, and Ben Davis is a big reason why.
Ben Davis, who has been part of the broadcast team since 2015, will be spending more time calling games from the field level. Davis got his feet wet in the dugout for a handful of games last season and during spring training, and with the Automated Ball-Strike Challenge System making its debut in 2026, NBC Sports Philadelphia vice president of content Alexandra Matcham told the Philadelphia Inquirer‘s Rob Tornoe that it made sense to get him down there more. Davis caught in the big leagues for 11 seasons, which gives him a pretty natural lens for explaining how a replay system that lives and dies on pitch framing is actually being used in the moment.
“I think having Davis, as a former catcher, at field level is going to give viewers greater insight about what they’re seeing with the challenge system,” Matcham said.
The expanded role will also help fill the void left by Taryn Hatcher, who won’t be returning after her contract wasn’t renewed following the 2025 season.
“As the game of baseball evolves and changes, so too does our coverage,” Matcham told the Philadelphia Business Journal’s Jeff Blumenthal. “In order to give fans who are not at the stadium the most entertaining and informative broadcast we can deliver, we want to add to our storytelling in new ways.”
That’s consistent with a broader direction NBC Sports Regional Networks has been moving in for years. As we covered when Hatcher’s departure was first reported in February, the network has been phasing out in-game reporters across its properties, and Hatcher had already been scaled back to home games only by the time her deal expired. She joined NBC Sports Philadelphia in 2018 and spent years covering the Phillies, Flyers, Sixers, and Eagles before the role was eliminated at the end of last season.
Beyond that, the booth is mostly unchanged. Davis is fortunate to be walking into it, having taken a chainsaw to the knee earlier this month while clearing trees at his home in Chadds Ford, spent several days refusing to go to the hospital, and somehow emerged fine. Tom McCarthy is back for his 17th full season as the Phillies’ play-by-play voice, with John Kruk, Ruben Amaro Jr., and Davis rotating as analysts and Cole Hamels returning on a part-time basis. Mike Schmidt won’t be back after working just four games last season.
The Phillies open Thursday against the Texas Rangers at Citizens Bank Park at 4:15 p.m. on NBC10 and NBC Sports Philadelphia, Davis’s knee permitting.