He's always described as a broadcasters. Vin Scully's name doesn't begin to approach what it represents if you call him a broadcasters.
John Lowe is a long time friend and baseball writer. The artist can be no greater than the man according to him. The reason you're hearing so much about him is that he's a great man. He's a good artist because he's a good man.
There was a young man who was just starting with the radio station, and I remember I was just starting with the Dodgers. He would like to interview Vin. I will always remember this. Vin agreed to do it when he came in. The young man hit the recorder and had a conversation. The two of them spent at least 40 minutes together. The young man shook his head when he came back to me. He told Fred that he didn't hit the right button. The recorder was in a state of tears. He asked if he could just have a few more minutes. I went to the man to explain what happened. A young man wants to announce. Let's do it again. I want to do it again. I have no idea who else would do that. "Let's do it again." Do you think about that? It has to do with his compassion, his humanity, and something that's part of his grace and his memory of a young man who got a helping hand.
Vin and his wife are America's greatest love story. They have respect for each other and care for each other. He's still opening her car door, they're still holding hands.
"Now, as the world gets different and it gets faster and more impersonal and all those things are changing, when I think about Vin and I talk to Vin, he's like the comforting soul that I used to know." He is tense about how he is, how he treats people, and his passion for the game of baseball.
The Dodgers played a spring training game in Vero Beach, Florida, in 1985. Bernsteinassociates
There was a man who wanted to meet Vin. Vin had to excuse himself from getting ready for the game after they chatted for 10 minutes in the press box. The gentleman's son told me that his father said his life was over. It was one of the highlights of his life. I told Vin the truth. Vin asked if he could say thank me. I would like to thank him because it was a great experience to meet him. Is that something we should discuss?
On the way to Mass, you can catch him in the locker room. He is getting coffee. Brandon and I are the only two people in the room. Vin is starting to chat. He said 'Sorry, boys, excuse me' when his phone rang suddenly. He's always nice. So he said yes. Thank you for that reminder. It's true, dear. If you'd excuse me, today is my grandson's birthday. Our family has a tradition of me singing to her. He walks into the players' bathroom and you can hear him singing 'happy birthday' to his grandchild. Brandon and I are staring at each other. Vin Scully sings "Happy Birthday" as it echoes through the bathroom of the club.
The town where he lives and works has a lot of Americans chasing fame. The only 88-year-old rock star in Hollywood is a man who spends every day of his life looking away from himself.
Los Angeles is the city of stars. From Tom Hanks to Steven Spielberg, name any star you want. I think Vin is the star. He is the largest star in the city. He has been the soundtrack of their stars for over 50 years.
Ned says he doesn't know anyone else like him, with the reverence of the people, and how many people speak so kindly of him. He is the most humble man I know.
Vin was honored by the L.A. Sports Council at a dinner earlier this year. Let's go over here. We can go to the reception area. I think both of us were locked into the conversation as we were drinking wine. There was a crowd of people forming over my shoulder. Everyone wants to know how much they like him. How much of a fan do they have of him? What does he mean to them and their families? He can't refuse anyone because he's so nice. It would be hard if it wasn't for him.
I was raised in Santa Monica. When the Dodgers played, my mother's car was used as a home base, and we had two guys in it. They were acquaintances with us. When my mother heard that my son was playing in a major league game, it was the first time she realized that I was in the majors.
Ned said that his daughter worked for the Dodgers a few years back. She became a fan of Vin because she knew him. And when she had a wedding. Vin read the introductions. He surprised everyone at the event. The place was in Chicago. The place went crazy when the people heard his voice. It's hard to steal the show from a bride and groom at a wedding, but for a short time, a guy who didn't want to steal the show from anyone at any point stole the show. We will always be thankful for the humility and love that he showed.
Bob Costas had an interview with Ray Charles for an NBC news magazine. He asked me who he would really like to meet after the cameras had been turned off. I think he's Ray Charles. He could have met a lot of people during his life. Who may it be? There is a person named Vin Scully. I asked why. He said that he loves baseball. To me the picture doesn't mean anything. The sound is all that matters. I enjoy listening to Vin Scully's broadcasts more than I ever have before. I took Ray to the stadium after setting it up. I was sitting across from Ray, and there was an empty seat waiting for Vin to arrive, and he walked through the door wearing a royal blue jacket. He said, "Ray, my name is Vin, and it's a pleasure to meet you." It struck Ray that he said a good evening to him wherever he was. We had a baseball and music discussion while they were sitting down. Vin had a good time. I think Ray Charles had one of the best experiences of his life.
Even though he has been the Dodgers' television voice for decades, you can still hear him on the radio. He admits that his years filling in the "blank canvas" on radio have helped him create his own style.
Jon Miller said that he has a great grasp of how to do the television, but that it's all grounded in his ability to do radio. There are a lot of guys on TV who are just sitting and chatting. That is not his style, you know what I mean? He likes to give you the next pitch and then return to the story. In radio, every pitch has to be described. You described it to people on the radio. It's just a basic fundamental of radio.
When Red Barber first started doing games on television, he tersely said: "On radio, a broadcaster's No. 1." He is a distant second on TV. The job of a radio DJ is to tell a story. It's your job to put a caption under a picture. Vin didn't just put a caption beneath a picture, he had great regard for Barber and owed him a debt as his mentor. He put a frame on top of it. Vin doesn't see radio and television the same way as Red did. They were seen as distinctly different by red. Vin was able to combine them.
George Sisler played a 154-game schedule in the year that Ichiro was going to break his hitting record. I think that he wants to bring this up without making it sound like he's saying anything. I had a great year. He told the TV audience, "Just between us."
"If you watch any other game, no matter how good the commentator is, no matter how good the game is, there is always some obstacle or maze that they have to make their way through if they are going to tell even one or two of the dozen or so," said Bob Costa The circumstances would never be the same if a 30-year-old Vin Scully came along. The business isn't sure what to do with him. Radio would be less important. You wouldn't have anything like the odyssey of the Dodgers or the significance ofJackie Robinson. The transplant from Brooklyn to the West Coast, the broken hearts in Brooklyn, and the new vistas of baseball on the West Coast are all related. The society of the game is changing in some way. He is grandfathered in, and that's nice. Most sports TV does not appeal to people about him. We can't stop doing the same thing because we can't get enough of this.
He was there for the perfect game. He was at the time of Hank's launch. When Kirk Gibson hit a home run off Dennis Eckersley in the World Series, Vin Scully was in attendance. A funny thing happens when a man is talking about baseball games for 67 years. His words can become part of history's biggest moments as well as the moments themselves.
His top 20 calls of all time are being run down by us. It's great. There have been a lot for me. The one call that sticks out the most to me is the one about the home run. It's. It's gone. Lay down. You could hear the excitement in his voice. He came up with this line, "In a year that has been so unbelievable, the impossible has happened." No mortal can do that.
"What happened was, I had several injections in my legs and I was able to bat that night." The room was used for training. He painted the game as if I wasn't available. I would not be playing. As the game continued, they painted that. I put ice on my legs whenever I listened to it. I didn't think I would be able to play. Before they cut out for a commercial, they cut to the bench. We were behind by one run and they told us that Kirk would not be playing. I got up and said my name. I told Tommy to go get me. Tommy is wearing a shirt " Leave me alone" is what Tommy said. I told him to hit Davis. I'm going to hit for the pitcher. He said, "OK." I started to dream as I watched the game. I was going to have a special moment when I got up there. It just happened. You hear the calls afterwards. It's She. It's. It's gone.
Jon Miller said, "Vinnie gave a vivid description of the home run hit by Henry Aaron, but he did not say anything for it." fireworks went off in Atlanta as the crowd roared Even though he was only on the radio that night, it all felt like you were in a baseball game. It could be heard. It was almost like you felt it. He came back in and painted a picture of the significance of what was happening. What had he just done and who was he? The significance of Henry being a black man in the deep South, having broken this cherished record by one of the most popular figures in the history of baseball, a record that a lot of people did not want to see broken, was the largest significance. 50,000 people are cheering for a black man. I remember thinking, "That's the greatest bit of extemporaneous live play-by- play sports broadcasting in the history of the medium."
Bettmann in the picture.
"Hank's mother threw her arms around his neck, kissed him for all she was worth, after he hit the home run that passed Babe Ruth on the all-time list."
Do you want to hear more of this interview? You should go to our man. There is a voice There are stories. There are extra pages on the Extras page.
People who were at that game and had transistor radios were still listening to the radio. Sandy removes his cap, wipes his brow, dries his leg, and adjusts his cap. The only other place in the world I can think of is the Dodger mound. There are almost 30,000 people here. He gave a description of how the infielders must be feeling, like, 'God, please don't let one get through me and mess up a perfect game.' The only perfect games that had been pitched in the last century were by Don Larsen and Jim Bunning. A perfect game is extremely rare. Since, it seems to have come more often. It was a rare occurrence and it was at Dodger Stadium. Vin is not as old as Sandy when Koufax arrives. Sandy is 29 years old. What is Vin's age? Both of them are at their peak in life. The most elegant baseball broadcasters are the ones who are elegant.
Jerry Reuss is a former Dodgers pitcher who had a no-hitter. It's about two and a half minutes long and you can see how he did it in the end. It's the most memorable thing he's done. I still remember the excitement because of the way that it was done and the way that I watched the game. I watched the game. I threw the ball. It is the closest I can get to relive it.
"For years and years, all I had was that audio," Rick Monday said. And then in the 1980's. I met a man in the office of Tom Lasorda. He showed me the video tape of the flag that was shown to him by his friend. I said that was true. Nobody knows it exists. He sent it over to me. I've been listening to that for a long time and now I have a video to show you. When you look at the video and match it with the talk, you can see that Vinny was standing up. He was by my side as I went over. I have heard it a few hundred times. I get goose bumps.
Bob Costas said that many of the great commentators have great calls. Vin's best calls are as good as some of the others. The stuff leading up to it makes Vin different. You don't listen to just Harvey Kuenn if you want to appreciate Vin. You are listening to the entire thing. You can listen to the entire at-bat, which was an extremely long one, because it went to 3-2, and there were foul balls, and he had to come out of the game. You have to note that he put his uniform on and now he is in the dugout. Vin distinguishes himself by listening to all of it. Everything that led up to it, not just the call of the home run or the strikeout, but everything that preceded it.
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