Vin Scully has not called a national game in nearly 20 years, and that number goes further back for television.
And yet, his final year as the voice of Dodgers seems to be getting celebrated by all generations. One of his fascinating stories from a random Dodgers-Diamondbacks game is now news.
It does not seem to matter if you were years from being born when “behind the bag, it gets through Buckner and the Mets win it” or “in a year that has been so improbable, the impossible has happened,” well, happened.
The appreciation of the 88-year-old runs deep, but perhaps means most to those in the broadcasting business who have crossed paths with him through the years. And while his style is impossible to emulate, that does not mean he will not have a lasting impact on those he leaves behind in the booth.
“The thing that just strikes me is he is just so kind and gentle and polite to everybody,” YES’ play-by-play man Michael Kay said. “You sit down and you are in awe of him, I almost get tongue-tied around him and he just puts you at such ease, just such a great person. You sit down with him and you talk with him and you realize his stature, his place in history then you see the way he acts and makes you want to be a better man or person.”
“One of those things about Vin is his incredible grace and welcoming nature,” SNY’s Gary Cohen said. “When I was a first-year major-league broadcaster, he treated me like a long-time colleague and I’ll never forget that. Every interaction I’ve ever had with him has been warm and special and he makes people feel as though they are the most important person in the room no matter who they are.”
“He’s just a very nice man,” Sean McDonough, the long-time voice of the Red Sox and now with ESPN said. “Grace, classy, elegant person.”
Scully’s last weekend in the booth comes as the Dodgers visit the Giants this weekend. His final home game last Sunday was aired on MLB Network and his final game ever this Sunday could be simulcast again depending on playoff scenarios. TBS will include highlights from the Dodgers game during their coverage of the Red Sox-Blue Jays.
It’s the only way Scully would allow himself to be celebrated in his 66th season. He refused overtures from FOX to call some of the All-Star Game. He saved his lone gesture for the Dodger Stadium crowd, playing a recorded version of his own rendition of “Wind Beneath My Wings” as the players saluted him after celebrating an NL West title on Sunday.
“There’s so much that goes into making him unique: the sound of his voice, the erudition, the grace [with which] he carries himself, the sense of the moment, the appreciation of the game and its subtleties,” Cohen said. “It’s the total package. But I think the thing that comes across to me about Vinny is the warmth in which he presents himself and the vocabulary and the classical education that is evident every time he speaks.”
And the stories. Scully has told plenty in his six-plus decades, one to match anything that is going on around the sport.
“I was talking to [Dodgers broadcaster] Rick Monday and he said, ‘Every single producer or boss in this business will tell you never, ever start a story with two outs,’ ” Kay said.
“ ‘But if Vin Scully starts a story with two outs the batter will foul the ball off 15 times because that’s what the Baseball Gods order.’ ”
