Have you ever had something be a part of your life for as long as you can remember? It could have been a toy, a pet, or even a family member that has always been there for as long as you can remember. Arguably, the last golden voice of baseball can be considered that family member in many Dodger families across America, including my own. His voice could quite possibly be one that many of us heard while being carried in our mother’s womb. The unmatched approach he takes to announcing baseball games is something that inspires and has inspired many to dream of becoming the next him. Either way this magician of words, this artist of broadcast, and the greatest story teller this side of Dr. Seuss will truly be missed; if this truly is his last season with the Dodgers.
Vincent Edward Scully, better known too many blue bleeders as Vin Scully, began his career with Dodgers in 1950; when he was recruited by another Dodger broadcasting icon Red Barber. Vin Scully’s mentor would leave to work for the cross town and much hated Yankees in 1953 leaving Scully to become the sole story teller of the Dodgers. The young heir apparent would eventually become the youngest to ever broadcast a World Series game, at the age of 25 in 1955. When the Brooklyn Dodgers traveled west to become the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1958 they would bring their newfound golden vocal cords with them. In Los Angeles, Scully would cement himself in the city of stars. His voice carried through speakers of transistor radios across Los Angeles. His stories of the battles fought in Ebbets Field in Brooklyn made the new Angelo fans feel like they had always been a part of the Dodgers. It was the beginning of a romance that blissfully grew with every passing summer and every pitch thrown. Vin Scully’s magical cords and elegant matter for which he described Dodger games allowed him to cross over sports boundaries to broadcast great moments like Jack Nicklaus’ Master’s win in 1975, “The Catch” by Dwight Clark in 1981, between the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys, and many others. Scully’s career has been nothing short of artistic, but his greatest masterpiece may have been that faithful night in October when Kirk Gibson hit that Dennis Eckersley slider into the left field pavilion. “In the year that has been so improbable. The impossible has happened.” I bet we all remember where we were when those words came across our television like a shooting star across the sky.
If this truly is Vin Scully’s final year with the Dodgers [say it is not so!!], I beg to ask who can truthfully sit in that press box high above Dodger Stadium that is properly named ‘Vin Scully press box’ and quite possibly not feel the weight of the Dodgers’ fans on their shoulders? Whoever that individual may be, I hope they do not try to be the next Vin Scully because that is close to impossible. I just hope they treat broadcasting the Dodgers like Scully did himself; with nothing but grace, knowledge, and love for a team that has had nothing but the best telling their story for generations. Thank you, Vin Scully. You truly did become a part of not just my family, but many other Dodger families out there. The Dodgers, baseball, and many homes will never be same without your golden voice.
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