Vin Scully, baseball and growing up
Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2022 10:23 pm
I grew up in Southern California. When the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles, I was a Little Leaguer obsessed with baseball. I can still recite the lineup for the '59 Dodgers. Few games were televised then, so we listened to the games on radio.
Vin Scully, who died to day at the age of 94, was considered the template for a great baseball announcer. I had an album of Vin Scully calling games in 1959.
If you want to listen, it's on YouTube.
Scully's style was folksy and laconic, and fit perfectly with the slow pace of baseball on a hot summer afternoon. He would weave a story into the call of the game so that when there was no action on the field, his master story telling took over. I not only got the score, but I learned the culture of baseball from listening to Scully. It's like the difference between watching a TV show and a radio drama. Your imagination is engaged more with radio.
Listening to Vin Scully was one of the joys of my childhood. RIP, Vin.
Vin Scully, who died to day at the age of 94, was considered the template for a great baseball announcer. I had an album of Vin Scully calling games in 1959.
If you want to listen, it's on YouTube.
Scully's style was folksy and laconic, and fit perfectly with the slow pace of baseball on a hot summer afternoon. He would weave a story into the call of the game so that when there was no action on the field, his master story telling took over. I not only got the score, but I learned the culture of baseball from listening to Scully. It's like the difference between watching a TV show and a radio drama. Your imagination is engaged more with radio.
Listening to Vin Scully was one of the joys of my childhood. RIP, Vin.