Let's start with a story — because with Vin Scully there's always a story involved.
Scully was 8 years old when he walked by a Chinese laundry in New York, looked through the window and saw the linescore from the World Series game that day.
"That would be Oct. 2, 1936, and the Yankees beat up the Giants 18-4," Scully said. "As a little boy, my first reaction was, 'Oh, those poor Giants.' "
Scully would walk to Giants games at the Polo Grounds after school. "That's when I fell in love with baseball and became a true fan," Scully said. "My last game with the Giants will be Oct. 2, 2016. That will be exactly 80 years to the minute from when I first fell in love with the game."
America has fallen in love with Scully during his amazing 67-year run as Dodgers announcer. The fact that anyone can do anything for 67 years — a nod to Sid Hartman — is amazing in its own right. But Scully, during his extraordinary career, became the voice of baseball. He has informed listeners and viewers with his timely stories. He has entertained them with one-liners. He is skilled at making the right call at the right time then stepping away so fans can savor the moment — or simply listen to the roar of the crowd.
He's known for his legendary calls of Sandy Koufax's perfect game 51 years ago, Hank Aaron's 715th home run to pass Babe Ruth and Kirk Gibson's walk-off homer in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series. It was the Gibson home run call on NBC in which Scully was silent for nearly a minute to allow the enormity of the moment sink in.
"Every day for 67 years, our friend has come on the air and given us Dodger baseball," former Dodgers outfielder Rick Monday told ESPN. "He's not a broadcaster. He's our friend, whether you've ever met him or not."
Since he announced that this would be his last year, players, coaches, managers, umpires and other officials have made their way to the Dodger Stadium pressbox to wish Scully well. Announcer Charley Steiner has joked that the farewell tour is coming to Scully rather than the other way around.
