[getdownonit]

Legendary baseball commentator Vin Scully is retiring at the end of this season after 67 years with the Dodgers. I've only been listening to him for less than a third of that time, though my granddad has fond memories from back before the Dodgers headed west. My experience is far from unique.

So much has been written about this well respected and by all accounts great man who has impacted America through seven decades. It'll be sad to see him go, so let's celebrate a man who has achieved what many of us men here aspire to - a true legacy.

Sports Illustrated Best 11 Calls

Quote:

Vin Scully has been calling Dodgers games for 67 years. He’s been behind the microphone for over 9,000 games, nearly half of the games the Dodgers have played in their history.

Long ESPN Retrospective

Quote:

When Vin Scully first walked into the Dodgers' broadcast booth, Winston Churchill hadn't started his second stint as the prime minister of Great Britain. Connie Mack, a man born while Abraham Lincoln was president, was still managing in the major leagues. The transistor radio -- a gizmo that would turn the man at the microphone into a California icon -- wouldn't be invented for another four years.

That was April 1950.

Take some time to listen and appreciate how influential Vin Scully has been, to more than just baseball.

Some of my favorites

[NilNisiOptimum]

Barring a big collapse by the Dodgers, they'll play my Nationals in the first round of the playoffs. I don't look forward to either outcome there, Nats are eliminated or they're forever known as the opponent in Vin's last game.

If there's one thing Scully was great at, it was educating fans on the other teams. Ten years ago there was a player for the Nats named Ryan Church, who Scully talked about being a local kid, having played high school ball in Lompoc about 2 hours up the coast from LA. Over the course of this season, you felt like you got to know more than just stats about everyone the Dodgers faced. You almost knew the divisional rivals as well as you knew the Dodgers.

[Chowder Head]

This clip is what makes Scully great. He weaves a story and calls a game with ease.

[MajorStyles]

I don't think we'll see another like him, no doubt. 67 years as the voice of one team - that's just ridiculous.

[Tim in real life]

(09-24-2016 12:16 PM)MajorStyles Wrote:  

I don't think we'll see another like him, no doubt. 67 years as the voice of one team - that's just ridiculous.

Frankly, I cannot relate to Doyer fans here in L.A., especially when I have no emotional attachment to the team and yet, I objectively look at Vin Scully as a West Coast radio icon.

However, I can see all the parallels between him and the late Chick Hearn.

[They Call Me Mister Tony]

He is one of the best baseball announcers, bar none. During some games, he would tell some interesting stories about the past.

Since the Giants won tonight, it would be nothing more than a fitting sendoff to a legend (even though he's supposed to call the Giants series next week) for the Dodgers to clinch the NL West on his final game at Dodger Stadium.

[Sean]

The event the Dodgers did Friday night was great. Costner's speech was wonderful and, as a baseball junkie, I'm glad I was listening to it alone. The lump in my throat at a future where there's no Vin Scully calling a baseball game is something that's gonna take some time to get used to.

[getdownonit]

Dodgers clinch the division with a walk off in his last game at Dodger Stadium

[MajorStyles]

(09-26-2016 06:15 PM)getdownonit Wrote:  

Dodgers clinch the division with a walk off in his last game at Dodger Stadium

They might be playing the Nationals in the playoffs, no? If so, then I assume he will work those games.

[Sean]

(09-27-2016 04:36 PM)MajorStyles Wrote:  

They might be playing the Nationals in the playoffs, no? If so, then I assume he will work those games.

No, home team broadcasters do not do playoff games except for radio. TV is strictly FOX, TBS, TNT, et al. Scully is only on radio for 3 innings as a simulcast with Steiner and Monday doing the last 6. That being said, you get other team's guy moonlighting for the national networks. Aaron Goldsmith from Seattle for FOX, Buck Martinez and Dan Schulman from Toronto, etc.