Remembering Vin Scully

By: Jake Miller

On August 2nd, 2022, the city of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the entire baseball community lost one of the sport’s strongest figures. Vin Scully, one of the most renowned television personalities of all time, passed away in his home at the age of 94. The broadcasting icon was known for his ability to captivate audiences over the course of a baseball game, a sport that is often considered to be uneventful.

His storytelling, charisma, and perfect timing would draw people closer to the television or radio as they hung on to his every word.. He could go on for the span of an inning as he provided historical insight into a team’s background or seamlessly slip into one of his patented moments of silence where he would let the sounds of the game paint a picture of the scene in Dodger Stadium.. Vin was more than just a voice; his ethereal presence cut through the airwaves and would penetrate your soul. There’s such an indescribable, visceral feeling attached to listening to Vin Scully call Dodger games, and while he hadn’t done it for six years prior to his death, he leaves behind an incredible legacy.

Vin Scully is a household name for the simple fact that so many people allowed him in their homes. Some of his biggest impacts came as a result of people attending games. While transistor radios were in their infancy, the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles. This was the start of what came to be a beautiful relationship between Vin and the Dodger faithful. Given that not all games were televised, whether at home or in the stadium, fans would hold a transistor radio to hear Scully make his calls. It became commonplace for fans to bring their radios to games just to have a voice in their ear while watching. There are even accounts of people learning how to speak English by listening to Dodgers broadcasts. Scully’s impartial, classy approach to broadcasting was what set him apart from the rest and brought in so many listeners.

In the days since his passing, announcers across multiple sports have tried to describe his “style” and “shtick” to no avail. It is truly one of the few things in life you only had to have experienced once to understand fully. Luckily, he has many memorable moments that have been archived on the internet. His most iconic, and my personal favorite, is his call of Kirk Gibson’s home run in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series. Throughout the at-bat, you get the perfect sample of what made Vin Scully so special. His use of analogies to describe Kirk Gibson’s ailing legs make you feel truly hopeless as a Dodgers fan. His delivery highlights the implications of the game, and then, for what seems like a lifetime, over a minute of silence as the ball leaves the field of play. The crowd roars louder and louder during that minute, and instead of attempting to talk over it, Scully puts you right in the middle of it by not making a sound. The Dodgers would go on to win that series against the Oakland A’s.

So now, with him gone, where does that leave us? First off, Dodgers fans are blessed to have the voice of Joe Davis (who will call this year’s World Series) as Vin’s replacement. He is a consummate professional who openly draws a vast amount of inspiration from Scully himself without stepping over boundaries. As a city and as fans of baseball, the only thing we can do is appreciate and remember all the special ways Vincent Edward Scully touched our hearts.

Remember his voice, stories, and most importantly, his iconic phrase that is said before every single Dodgers game, “It’s time for Dodger baseball!”. After all, he always said, “I needed you more than you needed me.” His memory lives on in the exact way he intended: through every smile rendered by his voice and every run scored by the Los Angeles Dodgers.