Came down with a bad case of nostalgia the other day. Just being at the stadium sends me back to my first game as a boy. It was a long time ago, but I still have the tickets.
The Dodgers don’t miss a beat on this nostalgia thing. Everywhere, you see the old and the new. There are the retired numbers over the outfield. Fans wear Dodger jerseys with player names that span the decades. And Dodger Vision — that giant TV screen in left field — runs clip after clip that blends the the old stars and the old glory with the new.
Then there’s Vin Scully. He’s been calling Dodger games since 1950. In one man, he connects Brooklyn to Los Angeles, Robinson to Ramirez, Koufax to Kershaw. And he connects us to all the history that is the Dodgers.
Like millions of others, I’ve heard Scully’s voice my whole life. Over transistors, in backyards, on bikes, in cars, stores, homes. Wherever there’s a radio, there has been Vin Scully, his stories and Dodger baseball.
So, here’s Vin Scully at work. Unfortunately, my camera couldn’t get much detail. But, it shows enough to make my point.
Scully’s the guy in the KABC booth, calling the game solo, as is his custom. Blue shirt and tie. Headset on, he’s got the game below, a monitor in front and pages neatly arranged on his desk.
I like how Scully’s work style contrasts with the TBS announcers. The TBS booth looks like a flurry of activity — three monitors, notes on the desk, notes on the wall, announcers flipping pages with help standing behind. But, Scully is the picture of control in his neat, organized booth. And while the other announcers have slumped shoulders and their heads down, the 81 year old Scully is sitting tall at the edge of his chair, eyes forward.
Doing his job, sitting at the edge of his chair, at 81 years old!
Scully, the Dodgers, Los Angeles — its all been an unbelievably good fit. For all of us.
He has all the accolades a baseball announcer could ever have. What more to say than thank you.
And, I suspect, Vin Scully would return the thanks.
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