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MLB Trademarks Joe Davis Grand Slam Call ‘Gibby Meet Freddie’
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MLB Trademarks Joe Davis Grand Slam Call ‘Gibby Meet Freddie’

MLB Advanced Media has filed to trademark the phrase “Gibby Meet Freddie,” the language in which Fox Sports announcer Joe Davis called the walk-off grand slam in the opening game of the World Series.

MLB filed the application for the term Monday, the first business day after Davis’ call of Freddie Freeman’s home run beat the Yankees 6-3. According to information on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office website, the trademark would be used for everything from headwear and shirts to aprons, children’s clothing and “undergarments.”

Gibby meets Freddie refers to the walk-off home run that Kirk Gibson hit for the Dodgers in the ninth inning of Game 1 1988 World Series, which LA went on to win against the Oakland A’s. “Gibby” was hampered by leg injuries in that series and came off the bench to hit that home run, his only appearance in that fall classic.

Freddie, of course, is referring to Freeman, the Dodgers first baseman who was slowed by an ankle injury that left his bat largely impotent in earlier rounds of the playoffs. Like Gibson’s homer, Freeman’s impact dramatically closed out a hotly contested World Series game for the Dodgers, although Freeman’s came in the 10th.e inning of Friday’s game.

Although the patent meets the preliminary requirements to be listed as patent pending, meaning it enjoys legal protection as if it had been approved, the trademark has yet to be formally approved by the government. According to the USPTO, it takes approximately two years for patent applications to go through the review process and be approved.

MLB declined to comment. It’s not unusual for the league to preemptively register trademarks on calls it thinks merchandise partners want to use.

Scott Soshnick contributed to this report.