Vin Scully

Growing up in San Diego, I spent most of my early youth listening to San Diego Padres games on the radio with Jerry Coleman broadcasting the game through my little AM radio. Before cable TV came out, the only way to hear anything outside of San Diego was to sneak into my parents bedroom and turn on their clock radio(someone please explain to me why even today, cheap ass clock radios can pick up AM stations out of town better then any other radio). I dont remember the first time I was flipping stations and heard Vin Scully and his broadcast partner Jerry Doggett annoucing Dodger games, but life has not been the same since.

I was just your average Southern California kid of the 70s and for some reason I was the biggest Steve Garvey fan ever(werent we all Garvey fans back then?)even though he played for the hated Dodgers. Once I realized I could listen live to how Garvey was doing rather then read the next days boxscore in the paper, I was never the same. While Jerry Coleman was great and I still to this day enjoy listening to him announce my favorite team the Padres, something about Scully made a baseball game the most memorable experience you could have.

You could smell the popcorn and hot dogs in the air and you would swear it was coming through the radio when he was talking. You wondered how an ocean breeze might feel as you sat there watching the Dodgers and Garvey play with a beachball bouncing around the stands. Or maybe it was a reminder of a sunny afternoon throwing the ball with your dad. Scullys voice seemed to create these visions and although I had never stepped foot in Dodger Stadium. I felt like I had front row tickets and was at the game with Vin being my personal announcer. No matter what was going on during the day and how upset you were, the second Scullys voice came on the air, everything was alright. He made you want a baseball game to last forever and there was nothing better then falling asleep at night to the sound of his voice.

Even today as an old man in my 30s with a stressful job and more worries then I ever thought about as a kid, I can still get a Dodger broadcast on the satellite or on the internet and there is Vin, still doing his thing. The great memories of being a kid just come back like they were yesterday. As I have solidified my love for the Padres and hatred for the Dodgers, I can still listen to a Dodger game and feel relaxed. Vin can even make the most loyal Padres fan think of possibly rooting for the Dodgers. If Vin is happy I am happy.

Vin's going to be retiring soon and the names of Hee Sop Choi and Cesar Izturis just dont have that Vin Scully Dodger ring to it like Garvey, Lopes, Russell, and Cey did, but even though the Dodgers dont have that unattainable aura anymore, Vin Scully still does. The goose bumps will always be there listening to him call a game and only someone like that can make memories of the past seem so vivid many years later. Vin Scully is baseball and I thank him for the memories he has given me and for that ability to still make me relax while reminding me that life isnt that bad all while announcing a Dodger game. Excuse me while I go get my AM radio.