RIP, Vin Scully.
Six years ago, when the legendary broadcaster retired after an unparalleled 67-year run as the Los Angeles Dodgers radio voice, I wrote an essay paying tribute to his extraordinary career. At the time, I zoomed in on Scully’s remarkable restraint, and succinct eloquence, during Kirk Gibson’s walk-off home run for the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series.
Back in 2016, I was aware that this essay could come into play upon Scully’s passing. So when I saw the sad news of his death, at 94, on Tuesday night, I contacted Daily Herald sports editor Mike Smith, to offer up the piece.
Bearing the same headline that I used in 2016, “Evidence of Vin Scully’s greatness: in a storied 67-year career, 68 seconds of silence,” the column was posted on the newspaper’s website Wednesday (see right).
For the past 2 1/2 years, Mike has been a steady advocate of my sports writing, including my baseball statistics research. So, in light of Mike’s retirement today, my praise of Scully–including the data-laden breakdown of that historic Gibson at bat against Dennis Eckersley–is a fitting wrap-up to my work under his leadership.
Of course, I was hardly the only writer to observe Scully’s humility. One of the all-time best sportswriters, Steve Rushin, offered one of many tributes this week with a terrific piece headlined “The Smaller Vin Scully Made Himself, the Larger He Became.”
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