The Dodgers have been in major league baseball since 1884. The team's first radio announcer started in 1939. When he could see he'd be making a career move, he scouted college announcers so he could train his replacement. He recommended a 23 yr old named Vin Scully who started broadcasting on radio and TV for the Dodgers in 1950. Today, after 66 years as the second Dodger primary broadcast announcer, Vinny announced he'll retire at the end of the season. He will be missed.
Vinny crafted his own style. Three generations of Dodger fans know the way the others call games is just all wrong. A book on the history of baseball broadcasting identified only one announcer who adopted Vinny's style.
Baseball changes slowly, but never this slowly
Re: Baseball changes slowly, but never this slowly
I knew this would appear on the net sooner or later. It's excerpts of Vinny's radio call of the last 3 outs of a Perfect Game by the Dodger pitcher Sandy Kofax. Vinny's love of the game (he played in college), his love for and way with words (literature major in college) and his love for the humanity of the game are apparent. One doesn't need to understand baseball to appreciate his call. You won't get the details of the game, but any great call is about more than just the game...
It is 9:41 PM on September the 9th. There are 29,000 people in the ball park and a million butterflies. In the Dodger dugout, Al Ferrara gets up and walks down near the runway, and it begins to get tough to be a teammate and sit in the dugout and have to watch. Sandy back of the rubber now, toes it. All the boys in the bullpen straining to get a better look as they look through the wire fence in left field. A lot of people in the ball park now are starting to see the pitches with their hearts … Two-and-two the count to Chris Krug. Sandy reading signs. Into his windup, 2-2 pitch: fastball got him swinging! Sandy Koufax has struck out twelve. He is two outs away from a perfect game … Koufax with a new ball, takes a hitch at the belt, and walks behind the mound. I would think that the mound at Dodger Stadium right now is the loneliest place in the world.
Sandy, fussing, looks in to get his sign; 0-and-2 to Amalfitano. The strike-two pitch to Joe: fast ball, swung on and missed, strike three! He is one out away from the promised land. And Harvey Kuenn is coming up. The time on the scoreboard is 9:44. Sandy into his windup and the pitch: fastball for a strike. He has struck out, by the way, five consecutive batters, and this has gone unnoticed. Sandy ready, and the strike-one pitch: very high and he lost his hat. He really forced that one.
That was only the second time tonight where I have had the feeling that Koufax threw instead of pitched, trying to get that little extra, and that time he tried so hard his hat fell off. He took an extremely long stride to the plate, and Torborg had to go up to get it. You can’t blame the man for pushing just a little bit now. Sandy backs off, mops his forehead, runs his left index finger along his forehead, dries it off on his left pants-leg. All the while, Kuenn is just waiting. Now Sandy looks in. Into his windup, and the 2-1 pitch to Kuenn: swung on and missed, strike two. It is 9:46 PM. Two-and-two to Harvey Kuenn. One strike away. Sandy into his windup. Here’s the pitch: swung on and missed, a perfect game!
Vinny had timing. After monumental moments in the game, or just a game, he'd leave the broadcast booth for a drink of water, letting the fans enjoy the crowd sound, returning a minute later.
It is 9:41 PM on September the 9th. There are 29,000 people in the ball park and a million butterflies. In the Dodger dugout, Al Ferrara gets up and walks down near the runway, and it begins to get tough to be a teammate and sit in the dugout and have to watch. Sandy back of the rubber now, toes it. All the boys in the bullpen straining to get a better look as they look through the wire fence in left field. A lot of people in the ball park now are starting to see the pitches with their hearts … Two-and-two the count to Chris Krug. Sandy reading signs. Into his windup, 2-2 pitch: fastball got him swinging! Sandy Koufax has struck out twelve. He is two outs away from a perfect game … Koufax with a new ball, takes a hitch at the belt, and walks behind the mound. I would think that the mound at Dodger Stadium right now is the loneliest place in the world.
Sandy, fussing, looks in to get his sign; 0-and-2 to Amalfitano. The strike-two pitch to Joe: fast ball, swung on and missed, strike three! He is one out away from the promised land. And Harvey Kuenn is coming up. The time on the scoreboard is 9:44. Sandy into his windup and the pitch: fastball for a strike. He has struck out, by the way, five consecutive batters, and this has gone unnoticed. Sandy ready, and the strike-one pitch: very high and he lost his hat. He really forced that one.
That was only the second time tonight where I have had the feeling that Koufax threw instead of pitched, trying to get that little extra, and that time he tried so hard his hat fell off. He took an extremely long stride to the plate, and Torborg had to go up to get it. You can’t blame the man for pushing just a little bit now. Sandy backs off, mops his forehead, runs his left index finger along his forehead, dries it off on his left pants-leg. All the while, Kuenn is just waiting. Now Sandy looks in. Into his windup, and the 2-1 pitch to Kuenn: swung on and missed, strike two. It is 9:46 PM. Two-and-two to Harvey Kuenn. One strike away. Sandy into his windup. Here’s the pitch: swung on and missed, a perfect game!
Vinny had timing. After monumental moments in the game, or just a game, he'd leave the broadcast booth for a drink of water, letting the fans enjoy the crowd sound, returning a minute later.