Today marks the closing of Vin Scully’s 67 years in
broadcasting and as voice of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Tomorrow, he begins retirement. It is the magic of baseball that such a sad
moment will also bring to countless individuals even more smiles as this event slips
us into the past. You see baseball more
than any other sport not only embodies its present, but cannot exist without
its past. In baseball our tribal elders
that pass along the stories and legacies of our clan are the announcers, and Vin
represents the finest qualities of our elders.
The Dodgers during this last weekend of calls by Vin, are
playing my Colorado Rockies in Los Angeles, and it has been both pleasure and
honor to listen to the ceremonies, deserved tributes, and most of all the
stories that surround the career of Vin Scully.
Baseball is all about the stories, and with each telling I not only
learn a new tale, but I recall tales of my own.
I remember the bedroom I shared as a kid with my big brother
Chris. I don’t even have to close my
eyes to feel the warmth of Southern Summer nights, see the grainy shadows of
branches cast by street lights through the open window, and hear the coo of
doves and hoots of owls as background noise to the call of baseball. Chris and I each had our own twin bed, and
between our beds was a nightstand on which a small box shaped AM radio softly
glowed tuned to WDIX in Orangeburg bringing us Braves baseball from far off
Atlanta. Then it was Earnie Johnson and
Milo Hamilton making the calls, telling the tales, bringing the likes Hank
Aaron, Phil Niekro, and Dusty Baker to life in our dark and shadowed room. Nationally televised games couldn’t compete
as the stoically neutral announcers shared their experiences somehow watered
down and sterile when compared to the familiar voices we listened to almost
every night of the season.
Now an adult, I live in Colorado and follow most closely our
Colorado Rockies. They came into existence
in 1993, just a year after I had met my future wife Jean-Marie and discovered
she was a fan as well. The story of the
Rockies for me begins with the announcers.
I think Colorado did it right by bringing in the voice of the
wonderfully experienced announcer Charlie Johnson on TV to gently gather the
fans into the fold of the Rockies, familiarizing us with the collection of
players assembled for the new expansion team.
When Charlie left, Drew Goodman took over the play-by-play reins
accompanied first by George Frazier and now by Jeff Huson and Ryan Spilborghs
on color (all former ball players). On
the radio, there have only been four announcers and I can still hear all their
voices in equal proportion. It started
with Jeff Kingery and Wayne Hagen, and now the games come courtesy of Jack
Corrigan and Jerry Schemmel. I can enjoy
the game as easily on radio as on TV thanks to all these fine voices.
Really the point is, baseball is a family made up of players
and fans in equal parts with the announcer seated at the head of the table
introducing one to the other and uniting all.
As Vin Scully retires, we say goodbye arguably to the greatest of our
tribal elders that have included Jack Buck, Harry Carey, and the legendary Red
Barber. Baseball in large part is a
sport that is passed on to generations as an oral history, and Vin Scully has
done it better than anyone else. Through
his humility, knowledge, skill, and uncompromising respect for the sport and
the characters that populate it, Vin has become a mentor to generations of
announcers and the nation’s home team announcer. Broadcast booths everywhere are a little
emptier after today.
