RIP Vin Scully

[wicked]

I can still recite the Buckner call because I'm a masochist.

I asked this when Betty White died, too: Are there any other people who could die anymore and receive total adulation? I know old age softens a lot of someone's sharp edges, but I can't think of many more still out there.

The only person I ever saw/heard say/speak a bad word of Vin Scully was a former poster here... who is a former poster here. Take that for what it's worth.

RIP.

 

[Songbird]

Out of respect for Vin's career, Jose Madrigas said he would not slap any hookers today.

 

[Huggy]

Out of respect for Vin's career, Jose Madrigas said he would not slap any hookers today.

I came here to see if Jose had posted a tribute. Poor Angie.

 

[Spartan Squad]

Reading all of this, I’m sorry I didn’t get to hear Vin regularly when I was younger. At least I wish I appreciated announcers when I was younger. By the time I could hear Scully on the regular around 2009/2010, it was clear his retirement was coming and might have come for a lesser man.

 

[Slacker]

I asked this when Betty White died, too: Are there any other people who could die anymore and receive total adulation? I know old age softens a lot of someone's sharp edges, but I can't think of many more still out there

**** Van Dyke. Still relatively healthy at 96.

 

[BitterYoungMatador2]

A certain irony that the Dodgers are playing the Giants tonight.

MTM posted "The Catch" utopic. Scully also had the call on the other great moment (not counting the earthquake) at Candlestick in the 80s, Will Clark's hit off Mitch Williams in the 1989 NLCS.

Which would be his last NBC broadcast with ABC taking the World Series assignment and that God awful contract with CBS kicking in the following year. I’ll go to my grave save that deal with CBS did as much as the strike in 1994 to decrease interest in baseball. They didn’t start airing regular season games until I think June. At a time when there was no internet and the not every house had cable the game was completely off the radar.

 

[playthrough]

I can still recite the Buckner call because I'm a masochist.

I asked this when Betty White died, too: Are there any other people who could die anymore and receive total adulation? I know old age softens a lot of someone's sharp edges, but I can't think of many more still out there.

The only person I ever saw/heard say/speak a bad word of Vin Scully was a former poster here... who is a former poster here. Take that for what it's worth.

RIP.

Just thinking of baseball broadcasters ... Bob Uecker? I can't immediately think of another one with the longevity in one market plus national work and acclaim.

 

[Songbird]

The most emotional moment in my sports mad life. ****ing cocksucker Clark.

 

[wicked]

**** Van Dyke. Still relatively healthy at 96.

That was the one name that came up with friends, but I feel like he's been in witness protection for 30-plus years. Scully and White were working til very close to the end.

 

[BitterYoungMatador2]

LaSorda was interviewed on the old Costas Coast to Coast and talked about this. He asked Neidenfuer what he was thinking trying to gas Clark with a first pitch fastball and he replied “I was trying to surprise you.”

 

[garrow]

As someone who grew up in the rare instance with a father who cared nothing about sports (and a mom who only ever cared about the Namath Jets and the early 70s Knicks), I didn't know of Vin Scully until I had watched the '86 World Series at my cousins' house.

RIP to a legend.

 

[Songbird]

As someone who grew up in the rare instance with a father who cared nothing about sports (and a mom who only ever cared about the Namath Jets and the early 70s Knicks), I didn't know of Vin Scully until I had watched the '86 World Series at my cousins' house.

RIP to a legend.

Still might be the best thing the Internet ever did.

 

[Neutral Corner]

I asked this when Betty White died, too: Are there any other people who could die anymore and receive total adulation? I know old age softens a lot of someone's sharp edges, but I can't think of many more still out there.

Dolly Parton comes to mind.

 

[maumann]

Mel Brooks. Carol Burnett. Willie Mays.

But they all have the same "thought they were already dead" kind of vibe.

 

[daytonadan1983]

Any chance we can get the Batman thread where Vince talks about a Vegas hitman reposted?

 

[Songbird]

Not sure about the thread but ...


"NOW STEPPING UP TO THE PLATE is Carlos Beltran. He's 0-for-2 tonight. He walked back in the third inning ... Carlos reminds me of Jose Madrigas. He was a bouncer at the Sands back around 1965, but he also did some pimping on the side. There's ball one to Beltran.

"Jose Madrigas, there was a guy who knew how to keep a woman in line. I once saw a hooker mouthing off to him. Jose slapped her so hard it stopped her dead in her tracks. Time froze while we all just took in the scene (pause) Kershaw delivers wide, ball two. Cardinals lead 3-2, we're in the eighth inning.

"So Angie, I think her name was, immediately stops mouthing off. Jose knew he had to set an example, so he smacked her again. Harder this time. Beltran takes a deep cut and fouls one straight back. 2-1 is the count. Don't forget about Free Dodger Cap night Saturday at the ballpark. Free Dodger baseball caps to all fans 14 and under. It's a great time for the whole family.

"Anyway, getting back to Jose Madrigas. He had actually spent some time in the Reds organization in the late 1950s before he hurt his knee. Back in those days, medicine wasn't what it is today. Jose was a strapping right fielder, but he just couldn't run very well after that. So he quit baseball, moved out west and settled into his job at the Sands. He once hit 23 homers in a season for Louisville. He kept that sweet uppercut swing the rest of his life ... as Beltran looks at a curve for strike two ...

"So when Angie mouthed off and Jose hit her, there was no going back. He always kept a baseball bat under the bar. He pulled it out and took one of those sweet uppercut swings under Angie's chin. Knocked five of her teeth out right away. Then he started whaling on her ... as Beltran whales on one DEEP down the right field line, but it ... will hook ... foul. Just foul, a few feet to the right of the pole in the corner. The count remains 2 balls and 2 strikes as Kershaw breathes a deep sigh of relief.

"(long pause) ... So I saw Jose Madrigas bash this poor girl's head in, and he just looked at me like I was next. I tried to inch toward the door, but Jose cut me off and told me I was part of this. Kershaw steps off the rubber. 2-2 the count, Cardinals lead 3-2 in the top of the eighth. Carlos Beltran is your batter, with Matt Holliday on deck. Brandon League warming up in the bullpen for the Dodgers.

"So me and Jose (Vin chuckles), we got a tarp from one of the storage rooms. We put it in the trunk of his car and drove about FIFTY miles out into the hot desert night. Must've driven an hour. Heard some great Sinatra tunes along the way. I was SCARED to death, but Jose seemed quite calm. Beltran fouls another one off to stay alive.

"We get all the way out past Henderson, Nevada, find a nice quiet spot in the desert to bury Angie. We open the trunk, and only then do we realize neither one of us had packed a shovel. Jose thought I did it. I thought Jose did it. And there's poor Angie, dead as a doornail on a tarp in the desert, half her face gone. It kind of looks like a ghastly smile, with her teeth missing ... Kershaw JUUUSSSTTT misses with a slider to run the count full. 3-2 now, two outs, top of the eighth. Cardinals leading 3-2. Carlos Beltran your batter. He's hitting .375 in his last six games. Definitely someone you want up in this situation.

"(long pause) ... Beltran fouls yet another one off. Tough slider there. Still a 3-and-2 count ... Angie was smiling this dead smile, and me and Jose had no shovel! So we both started laughing in the desert moonlight, and somewhere ... somewhere I think Angie was laughing with us. We ended up burying her with a beer glass and a cup from a diner we had stopped at along the way.

"Beltran swings and skies one to center. Victorino settles under it, squeezes it, and the Dodgers are out of the inning. No runs, a hit, no errors for the Cardinals in the eighth. Matt Kemp will lead it off for the Dodgers in the bottom half ... when we return."

 

[outofplace]

I just woke up to this terrible news. I can name a dozen people who were legends, but when you think of radio play-by-play, Vin Scully's name is No. 1 by a huge margin. And baseball was just one of the sports he did so well.

To think he got the job with the Dodgers basically straight out of Fordham (I believe he did a football game from the roof of a stadium without a winter coat), tutored under Red Barber, went to Los Angeles with the team and entertained and entranced millions for close to six decades.

And despite the fact that we all knew his paycheck came from the team (and Farmer John), Scully never gave the impression he was anything but an impartial observer, the guy sitting next to you in row 35 who just happened to know a little more about all the players and was willing to tell you something you might not know about the game. "Pull up a chair, we're just getting started at Dooodger Stadium tonight..."

His pre-game prep was legendary. I'm certain he had a box full of 3x5 cards filled with player notes, a great stat guy and an amazing memory. Plus, he was an accomplished lip-reader, too.

"That'll bring up Jimmy Wynn, 0-for-3 tonight but 4-for-13 in the series and hitting .357 so far in June. A fastball from Gullett is low, ball one. The Toy Cannon has three homers against the Reds this season, all to left center and all at Riverfront. Gullett winds and delivers ... Wynn takes on the outside corner, strike one. Jimmy started his career as a Red before the Astros picked him up in the 1962 expansion draft, and Wynn has more homers against Cincinnati than any other National League team. He swings and hits a lazy fly ball to shallow left, Foster puts it away and that will do it for the Dodgers in the eighth."

He wouldn't rip a player, but he wouldn't shy away from telling you what actually happened, either. For all his famous calls, I still remember driving back to Fresno one night on desolate I-5 with the radio tuned to Vin.

"Sharp ground ball to Lopes, he'll flip it to Russell for one ... and Bill THROWS IT INTO THE GRANDSTANDS!"

I just about drove off the road, laughing.

Whether you loved or hated the Dodgers, Scully deserved respect and admiration. And all the tragedy that happened in his life never affected his love for the profession and the sport. And I think that's why it's so hard to explain why it hurts this morning to lose someone I never met.

I tried to explain Vin Scully to my wife this morning. She is not a sports fan and just didn't get it. I actually tried reading Batman's fictional Scully post a while ago, but that didn't fly, either.

 

[Splendid Splinter]

I just woke up to this terrible news. I can name a dozen people who were legends, but when you think of radio play-by-play, Vin Scully's name is No. 1 by a huge margin. And baseball was just one of the sports he did so well.

To think he got the job with the Dodgers basically straight out of Fordham (I believe he did a football game from the roof of a stadium without a winter coat), tutored under Red Barber, went to Los Angeles with the team and entertained and entranced millions for close to six decades.

And despite the fact that we all knew his paycheck came from the team (and Farmer John), Scully never gave the impression he was anything but an impartial observer, the guy sitting next to you in row 35 who just happened to know a little more about all the players and was willing to tell you something you might not know about the game. "Pull up a chair, we're just getting started at Dooodger Stadium tonight..."

His pre-game prep was legendary. I'm certain he had a box full of 3x5 cards filled with player notes, a great stat guy and an amazing memory. Plus, he was an accomplished lip-reader, too.

"That'll bring up Jimmy Wynn, 0-for-3 tonight but 4-for-13 in the series and hitting .357 so far in June. A fastball from Gullett is low, ball one. The Toy Cannon has three homers against the Reds this season, all to left center and all at Riverfront. Gullett winds and delivers ... Wynn takes on the outside corner, strike one. Jimmy started his career as a Red before the Astros picked him up in the 1962 expansion draft, and Wynn has more homers against Cincinnati than any other National League team. He swings and hits a lazy fly ball to shallow left, Foster puts it away and that will do it for the Dodgers in the eighth."

He wouldn't rip a player, but he wouldn't shy away from telling you what actually happened, either. For all his famous calls, I still remember driving back to Fresno one night on desolate I-5 with the radio tuned to Vin.

"Sharp ground ball to Lopes, he'll flip it to Russell for one ... and Bill THROWS IT INTO THE GRANDSTANDS!"

I just about drove off the road, laughing.

Whether you loved or hated the Dodgers, Scully deserved respect and admiration. And all the tragedy that happened in his life never affected his love for the profession and the sport. And I think that's why it's so hard to explain why it hurts this morning to lose someone I never met.

And stepped in for Red because Red had a contract dispute.

 

[MileHigh]

Devastating news to wake up to. Just beyond heartbroken. A colossal loss. A major voice of my youth.

I grew up in SoCal. I was so fortunate that we had Vin, Chick Hearn (Lakers), **** Enberg (Rams/Angels/UCLA hoops), Bob Miller (Kings). But there was no doubt who the ace of diamonds was. I gravitated toward being an Angels fan, but Vin was the absolute best and I so admired him and would listen to him often.

The stories. The voice. He was magical on the radio. On the Game of the Week. On the postseason in the 1980s. He did golf for a bit (someone mentioned the Skins Game on Thanksgiving weekend). Was on the Masters for a few years when he was at CBS. The NFL.

There is no better baseball broadcaster and no one will ever match him. An absolute giant, a true legend who touched so many people in so many ways.

RIP.

 

[UNCGrad]

People who know more (everything) about the craft could certainly speak to this better than me, and while it is obvious so many today will talk about how well Vin laid out for a full minute after Gibson's homer and the indelible line after, this morning I was struck by how well he did the same when Gibson appeared from the dugout. And, within that, how insanely good the direction from the truck is in this clip. Vin says, "And look who's coming up." The pictures that follow, every single shot, lay the groundwork and gravity to the moment, and Vin is a genius in allowing that motion picture to unfold. But, also, what a terrific, professional and mesmerizing moment of rising to the challenge in the production for the broadcast.
Fans. Gibson on deck. Pine tar. Shot of Eck. LaRussa. Gibson again, taking mammoth warmup swings to get loose enough. Nervy Lasorda. The organ playing.
Just a masterclass.