When Vin Scully took over the mic for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1950, baseball was a different game in many different ways.
There weren’t any night games. Players still held day jobs and many were war heroes. Baseball teams west of Chicago and St. Louis didn’t exist. The color barrier had just been broken.
Fast forward to today, and many things have changed. For the better, baseball is one of the most diverse sports in the United States. Players, are paid outrageous salaries. California has five baseball teams, with a few more teams in between California and Chicago.
Among all these things that have changed in and outside of the game, the one constant is Vin Scully, who has begun his final season as the television voice of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Modern announcers are focused around stats, player interviews, and even at times trying to make their call of a rare moment as big as the moment they are commentating on. Not Vin Scully, though.
Take Vin Scully’s call of Kirk Gibson’s pinch home run in the 1988 World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Oakland Athletics. If you listen to the call after the home run was hit, you’ll notice aside from a few remarkable words, Vin just lets the picture and the sound tell the story.
That’s what makes Vin Scully great. Whether you are listening to the game on the radio or watching it on TV, Vin Scully wants the fan to feel like they were at the game with him. The Gibson home run is just one example of the many great calls Scully has allowed to play out.
“My job, basically is to call the play as accurately and swiftly as possible. Get out of the way for the crows. And perhaps somewhere along the way inform a little bit, entertain even a little bit. The entire job is based on accuracy so the viewer trusts you. Trust goes right there with accuracy.” Scully, describing his commentating style in an interview on The Dan Patrick Show in 2014.
As unique as Vin’s broadcasting style is, even more admirable is his ability to have a story to tell for just about every player in the game. Whether the player was just called up from the minors, or has been in the game for ten years, Vin Scully has something to say about the player that you probably haven’t heard before.
Scully also finds a way to insert commentary on just about any subject as well. Listen to Scully below talk about the emergence of beards in baseball.
While Scully would humbly disagree, it’s a pastime just to listen to Scully as much as it is to watch or listen to the game. If you can afford it, one of the best things a baseball fan can do this year, is watch as many home Dodgers games as they can, even if it’s watching the replay on MLB.TV. Even if you just have it on the background and never look up at the TV, turn the game on and give Vin a listen.
Dodgers fans may identify him as the voice of their team, however Vin Scully is just as much the voice of baseball. No doubt, the game will move on without him after he calls his last out this season, and many announcers will be able to come close to his greatness, but there simply just won’t be another Vin.
For many Dodgers fans and baseball fans alike, it just won’t be the same for a while, and some of us may even catch ourselves recalling his famous quote as we get used to him not calling Dodgers home games:
“Good is not good when better is expected.” – Vin Scully
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