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Dodgers play-by-play announcer Vin Scully will wind up his illustrious career in October.
Photo by: GETTY IMAGES
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It’s hard to think of someone in sports who has been so universally praised as
Vin Scully, who calls the last game of his 67-year career Oct. 2. Scully represents one of the few topics where mainstream news outlets and sports blogs are in complete agreement: Everyone loves him.
My problem is that I live in Washington, D.C., and don’t listen to Scully enough to consider him the best baseball broadcaster ever. Personally, I am partial to Giants broadcaster Jon Miller and am still mad at the Orioles for letting him go in 1996.
I called some of my favorite baseball voices to get a better grasp on why Scully is so revered. Their answers covered four main themes.
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He is an unparalleled storyteller.
Every announcer contacted marveled at Scully’s ability to weave stories from his 67-year career into his broadcasts.
“I don’t think the actual nuts-and-bolts of calling a game are any different,” said Gary Thorne, who handles Orioles play-by-play duties for MASN. “Where Vinny is uniquely different is in his ability to weave stories into the description of the game. Vinny does it better than anybody ever.”
■ Dodgers productions allow him to tell stories.
Scully works alone during Dodgers games, and the team’s productions feature fewer replays and graphics than other local telecasts. That gets rid of the clutter and helps give Scully time to tell stories. “The truck is following him; he is not following the truck,” Bob Costas said. “Because he works alone, his tremendous storytelling ability isn’t compromised by anything that goes on around him.”
■ His pacing while telling stories is extraordinary.
One of the attributes for storytelling is knowing when to start and stop talking. “It’s his ability to paint the picture so vividly that you feel like you can see what was going on, combined with his ability to weave in stories within the play-by-play,” said Giants broadcaster Miller. ESPN’s Dan Shulman agreed. “He sounds interesting and interested in what he’s talking about, so he makes you interested in it. He has a great feel for the moment and how to captivate people and keep people interested in the things that he says.”
■ He has great pipes.
People simply like listening to Scully. “It’s just a pleasant, melodic sound,” said Fox broadcaster Joe Buck. “It hits people’s ear in the right spot. He’s been blessed with that. He has the ability to mix story and play-by-play to where it all becomes very soothing. He’s not going to overreact. He’s not going to jump and scream and shout.”
John Ourand can be reached at jourand@sportsbusinessjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @Ourand_SBJ.
