"Hi, Everybody, and a Very Pleasant Good Evening to You, Wherever You May Be"
Soothing and unforgettable—those words are used by many fans, both Dodgers and baseball, more broadly to describe the broadcasts of the iconic broadcaster Vincent Edward Scully. He was an ambassador and evangelist for the game of baseball. His reach spread generations, starting in the mid-50s to 2016; he called some of the most iconic moments in baseball history when Dodgers fans who grew up with Vin relisten to, chills kick in. There is nobody like Vin.
Scully first fell in love with baseball with the crowd's roar at the Polo Grounds of the then-New York Giants, who later moved west with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1958.
His experience of calling games began as a student at Fordham University; he immediately knew broadcasting was for him. With determination, Scully wanted to make an impression on the then-Dodgers broadcaster, Red Barber, by sending numerous recordings of his college games called. Barber gave him Scully his long-awaited chance, starting his journey to becoming the greatest baseball broadcaster of all time.
From that moment forward, Scully became the voice of the Dodgers—starting the following year in 1954, with Barber retired, Vin was the Dodgers announcer for every game.
Scully called some of the most iconic moments in baseball history, from the first and only perfect game in World Series history, which was also a no-hitter. This record stood until this year when the Houston Astros threw a combined no-hitter in a World Series game against the Philadelphia Phillies. That perfect game he called in the World Series, might I add, was against the Dodgers, then playing in Brooklyn. When Scully called that historic final out, it was with excitement, a sweet and soothing and poetic touch, "Got him! The greatest game ever pitched in baseball history by Don Larsen, a no-hitter, a perfect game in a World Series. Never in the history of the game has it ever happened in a World Series. Don Larsen pitches a perfect game, retiring 27 Dodgers in a row. When you put it in a World Series, you set the biggest diamond in the biggest ring." No matter what, Vin called games as they should be called, as they happen, with no bias for one team or the other—Vin did just that all 67 of his years in the booth as the voice of the Dodgers.
While many Dodger fans loved and admired him as a part of their experience, he was so much bigger than the game of baseball—he became a part of every family that listened to broadcasts of Dodger Baseball, either on television or radio.
He was not related to most Dodger fans; but through his unique persona, his stories, and the multiple hours you spent listening to him each day, he was much more than baseball—he was family; you may have never met him, but he was one of those people that you didn't have to have met, to know him, it's like you've known him for years.
He was a storyteller. He was impartial while calling games—despite Scully being the voice of the Dodgers for 67 years, he broadcasted with excitement whether the Dodgers were winning or their opponent was winning. Whether the Dodgers made an outstanding play or their opponent did, no baseball fan has anything negative to say about Vin Scully because of his impartial calling. Vin was the "soundtrack of summer" for decades. He was bigger than baseball.
Vin made broadcasting an art form. He painted a picture with words. You did not have to watch it on TV or be at the game to understand what was happening. Vin gave vivid descriptions through words, spoken with anecdotes, and poetry. Dodger fans who went to games could not listen to Vin's storytelling—the solution was to bring transistor radios to the games. Dodger fans could then experience the atmosphere of being there in person, seeing the action up close, and listening to Vin paint a picture with words through his broadcasts. Sometimes there was so much feedback from all the stadium radios; Vin had to tell fans at the game to turn down the volume of their transistor radios.
Vin was a friend of the game. He was a friend of the fans. In his poetic voice, before every game, he would open up his broadcast with one line: "Hi Everybody, and a Very Pleasant Good (Afternoon/Evening) to You, Wherever You May Be." Before the game, he would say the iconic line that Dodger fans still use and is said before every game at Dodger Stadium, which gives Dodger fans goosebumps, whenever it's said: "It's Time for Dodger Baseball!". Besides his most iconic calls, these two sayings by Vin cemented Vin into the everlasting minds of Dodgers fans, spreading across generations. No broadcaster will ever be like Vin again; his art form is hard to copy and insulting even to try and emulate. When baseball fans go back and listen to his iconic calls or even hear his voice, they get the chills.
Before calling his final game, Scully gave Dodgers fans a heartfelt message. A message that when I just read the words of, I can hear his voice through the words on a screen. "But you know what — there will be a new day and eventually a new year. And when the upcoming winter gives way to spring, rest assured it will be time for Dodger baseball."
Vin was one of the few people in baseball who was bigger than the game itself. He was an icon whose reach spread to many generations.
