Vin Scully Called Up

Vincent Edward Scully, known by all as "Vin" or "Vinny," has died.  Over 67 years, first for Brooklyn then starting in 1958 for Los Angeles, he announced Dodger baseball.  For summer after summer and generation after generation, he was the voice of baseball.

As many are saying in tribute, Vinny was so much more than an announcer. 

Vinny and I arrived in southern California about the same time - he as the 31-year-old Dodger broadcaster and me as a newborn at Pomona Valley Hospital.  From my earliest memories, the Dodgers have always been my team.  Year in and year out, reliable as the sun, there was always Vin Scully.  

So, though I never met the man, his death feels like a loss in the family.  That's crazy. And its not.

To kids growing up in my neighborhood, he was "VinScully," pronounced as a single name. It would have been unthinkable for a child to use the familiar "Vin" or "Vinny." Scully brought us the Dodgers, but he was also our teacher on all things Dodgers and baseball.  I remember more than one boyhood argument ending with "VinScully says so" which was the final word on the matter.  

I don't associate Scully with any one place. I remember listening to his voice in cars, backyards, front yards, garages and living rooms.  As I grew older, Vin Scully and Dodger baseball was something parents and a laconic teen could share.  

As a young man, I lived in other cities with other teams and other announcers.  But, none were Vin Scully. 

I became a father. Rocking back and forth, with a sleeping baby on my shoulder, I listened to Vin Scully on the radio.

We celebrated my parents' 50th wedding anniversary and wrote to celebrities hoping to get a note of congratulations.  Some sent autographed photos.  Not Vin.  He handwrote to my mom and dad, "I would say God bless you, but I can see that he already has." Just a simple thing, but so elegant and kind that I'm retelling the story 15 years later. 

In 2016, I watched on television as the Dodgers honored Vin and then watched him broadcast his final game from San Francisco.  The next year, Marcia and I heard him speak at the Pasadena Civic.

Last October, I was at Dodger Stadium for the post season series against the Braves. I was up in the reserved section and instantly stood with 50,000 others as Vin Scully appeared on the big screen. He was at his home and appearing by live video feed.  There he was, smiling on the screen, gently waiving to the crowd. His smile grew. He knew very well what was coming next. He was 93, his voice shook, but there was a boyish glee about him. We all knew exactly what was coming next and a kind of reverent clapping erupted. Then, at Vin's invitation, all together in his sing-song cadence, we yelled "It is time for Dodger baseball."   

............

The Dodgers play the Padres tonight at Dodger Stadium.  Game time is 6:10.