Vin Scully

Vincent Edward Scully is an American sports announcer.

All quotes below are from Baseball Almanac unless otherwise noted

• "Hi, everybody, and a very pleasant good (afternoon/evening) to you, wherever you may be."

• "As long as you live, keep smiling because it brightens everybody's day."

• "High (drive/fly ball) into (left/center/etc.) field, and deep. Back goes (fielder's name), a-way back, it's gone!" (Or "... to the [warning] track, to the wall, gone!")

• "Forget it." (This is his most popular home run call)

• "It's a mere moment in a man's life between the All-Star Game and an old timer's game." –During the 1980 Major League Baseball All-Star Game held at Dodger Stadium

• "It's a passing of a great American tradition. It is sad. I really and truly feel that. It will leave a vast window, to use a Washington word, where people will not get Major League Baseball and I think that's a tragedy." –At the end of the last NBC Game of the Week, October 9, 1989)

• (Dennis Martinez's perfect game at Dodger Stadium, July 28, 1991, based off of video on mlb.com):

"We have reached the bottom of the 9th inning, and now it is happening, what we normally experience at any ballpark when a visiting pitcher is so close to greatness, even the hometown fans come to root for him. He has come too far, he has journeyed too long to drop it."

"Chris Gwynn standing at the plate, Dennis Martinez delivers...Fastball hit JUST foul along the third base line. Foul by a foot, and now the crowd seems to be inspired. It's as if they take it as a sure sign that Dennis will get what he wants, and what he wants is suddenly what they want. 47,224 on their feet. One pitch away from a pitcher's absolute Nirvana. The pitcher's dream: A perfect game. Dennis Martinez ready...Popped deep in the air to center field, going deep on it is Marquis Grissom, he's got it on the track!

"Dennis Martinez getting mobbed by his teammates on this 28th of July, 1991, 3:22 pm in the afternoon. Dennis Martinez has reached the ultimate, a perfect game against the Los Angeles Dodgers."

"Nothing scratchy, nothing flukey, it was a masterpiece! And with tears pouring down his cheeks, he goes down the steps and into the Expo dugout. What a game!"

• (Kirk Gibson's World Series-game-winning home run, October 15, 1988, transcribed from mlb.com archives):

"And, (relief pitcher Dennis Eckersley) walked (pinch-hitter Mike Davis)... and look who's comin' up!

"All year long, they looked to him to light the fire, and all year long, he answered the demands, until he was physically unable to start tonight—with two bad legs: The bad left hamstring, and the swollen right knee. And, with two out, you talk about a roll of the dice... this is it. If he hits the ball on the ground, I would imagine he would be running 50 percent to first base. So, the Dodgers trying to catch lightning right now!

"Fouled away.

"He was, you know, complaining about the fact that, with the left knee bothering him, he can't push off. Well, now, he can't push off and he can't land. ... 4-3 A's, two out, ninth inning, not a bad opening act!

"Mike Davis, by the way, has stolen 7 out of 10, if you're wondering about Lasorda throwing the dice again. 0-and-1.

"Fouled away again. ... 0-and-2 to Gibson, the infield is back, with two out and Davis at first. Now Gibson, during the year, not necessarily in this spot, but he was a threat to bunt. No way tonight, no wheels.

"No balls, two strikes, two out.

"Little nubber... foul—and, it had to be an effort to run that far. Gibson was so banged up, he was not introduced; he did not come out onto the field before the game. ... It's one thing to favor one leg, but you can't favor two. 0-and-2 to Gibson.

"Ball one. And, a throw down to first, Davis just did get back. Good play by Ron Hassey using Gibson as a screen; he took a shot at the runner, and Mike Davis didn't see it for that split-second and that made it close.

"There goes Davis, and it's fouled away! So, Mike Davis, who had stolen 7 out of 10, and carrying the tying run, was on the move.

"Gibson, shaking his left leg, making it quiver, like a horse trying to get rid of a troublesome fly. 2-and-2! Tony LaRussa is one out away from win number one. ... two balls and two strikes, with two out.

"There he goes! Wa-a-ay outside, he's stolen it! ... So, Mike Davis, the tying run, is at second base with two out. Now, the Dodgers don't need the muscle of Gibson, as much as a base hit, and on deck is the lead-off man, Steve Sax. 3-and-2. Sax waiting on deck, but the game right now is at the plate.

"High fly ball into right field, she i-i-i-is... gone!!

"In a year that has been so improbable... the impossible has happened!

"And, now, the only question was, could he make it around the base paths unassisted?!

"You know, I said it once before, a few days ago, that Kirk Gibson was not the Most Valuable Player; that the Most Valuable Player for the Dodgers was Tinkerbell. But, tonight, I think Tinkerbell backed off for Kirk Gibson. And, look at Eckersley—shocked to his toes!

"They are going wild at Dodger Stadium—no one wants to leave!"

• (Word-for-word transcription of Scully's call of the ninth inning of Sandy Koufax's no-hitter on September 9, 1965):

"Three times in his sensational career has Sandy Koufax walked out to the mound to pitch a fateful ninth where he turned in a no-hitter. But tonight, September the ninth, nineteen hundred and sixty-five, he made the toughest walk of his career, I'm sure, because through eight innings he has pitched a perfect game. He has struck out eleven, he has retired twenty-four consecutive batters, and the first man he will look at is catcher Chris Krug, big right-hand hitter, flied to second, grounded to short. Dick Tracewski is now at second base and Koufax ready and delivers: curveball for a strike.

"Oh-and-one the count to Chris Krug. Out on deck to pinch-hit is one of the men we mentioned earlier as a possible, Joey Amalfitano. Here's the strike one pitch to Krug: fastball, swung on and missed, strike two. And you can almost taste the pressure now. Koufax lifted his cap, ran his fingers through his black hair, then pulled the cap back down, fussing at the bill. Krug must feel it too as he backs out, heaves a sigh, took off his helmet, put it back on and steps back up to the plate. Tracewski is over to his right to fill up the middle, (John) Kennedy is deep to guard the line. The strike two pitch on the way: fastball, outside, ball one. Krug started to go after it and held up and Torborg held the ball high in the air trying to convince Vargo [the umpire] but Eddie said no sir. One and two the count to Chris Krug. It is 9:41 p.m. on September the ninth. The one-two pitch on the way: curveball, tapped foul off to the left of the plate.

"The Dodgers defensively in this spine-tingling moment: Sandy Koufax and Jeff Torborg. The boys who will try and stop anything hit their way: Wes Parker, Dick Tracewski, Maury Wills and John Kennedy; the outfield of Lou Johnson, Willie Davis and Ron Fairly. And there's twenty-nine thousand people in the ballpark and a million butterflies. Twenty nine thousand, one hundred and thirty-nine paid.

"Koufax into his windup and the one-two pitch: fastball, fouled back out of play. In the Dodger dugout Al Ferrara gets up and walks down near the runway, and it begins to get tough to be a teammate and sit in the dugout and have to watch. Sandy back of the rubber, now toes it. All the boys in the bullpen straining to get a better look as they look through the wire fence in left field. One and two the count to Chris Krug. Koufax, feet together, now to his windup and the one-two pitch: fastball outside, ball two. (Crowd booing on the tape.)

"A lot of people in the ballpark now are starting to see the pitches with their hearts. The pitch was outside, Torborg tried to pull it over the plate but Vargo, an experienced umpire, wouldn't go for it. Two and two the count to Chris Krug. Sandy reading signs, into his windup, two-two pitch: fastball, got him swinging.

"Sandy Koufax has struck out twelve. He is two outs away from a perfect game.

"Here is Joe Amalfitano to pinch-hit for Don Kessinger. Amalfitano is from Southern California, from San Pedro. He was an original bonus boy with the Giants. Joey's been around, and as we mentioned earlier, he has helped to beat the Dodgers twice, and on deck is Harvey Kuenn. Kennedy is tight to the bag at third, the fastball, a strike. "O" and one with one out in the ninth inning, one to nothing, Dodgers. Sandy reading, into his windup and the strike one pitch: curveball, tapped foul, "O" and two. And Amalfitano walks away and shakes himself a little bit, and swings the bat. And Koufax with a new ball, takes a hitch at his belt and walks behind the mound.

"I would think that the mound at Dodger Stadium right now is the loneliest place in the world. Sandy fussing, looks in to get his sign, "O" and two to Amalfitano. The strike two pitch to Joe: fastball, swung on and missed, strike three. He is one out away from the promised land, and Harvey Kuenn is comin' up.

"So Harvey Kuenn is batting for Bob Hendley. The time on the scoreboard is 9:44. The date, September the ninth, nineteen-sixty-five, and Koufax working on veteran Harvey Kuenn. Sandy into his windup and the pitch, a fastball for a strike. He has struck out, by the way, five consecutive batters, and that's gone unnoticed. Sandy ready and the strike one pitch: very high, and he lost his hat. He really forced that one. That's only the second time tonight where I have had the feeling that Sandy threw instead of pitched, trying to get that little extra, and that time he tried so hard his hat fell off — he took an extremely long stride to the plate — and Torborg had to go up to get it.

"One and one to Harvey Kuenn. Now he's ready: fastball, high, ball two. You can't blame a man for pushing just a little bit now. Sandy backs off, mops his forehead, runs his left index finger along his forehead, dries it off on his left pants leg. All the while Kuenn just waiting. Now Sandy looks in. Into his windup and the two-one pitch to Kuenn: swung on and missed, strike two. It is 9:46 p.m.

"Two and two to Harvey Kuenn, one strike away. Sandy into his windup, here's the pitch:

"Swung on and missed, a perfect game!

"On the scoreboard in right field it is 9:46 p.m. in the City of the Angels, Los Angeles, California. And a crowd of twenty-nine thousand one-hundred thirty nine just sitting in to see the only pitcher in baseball history to hurl four no-hit, no-run games. He has done it four straight years, and now he caps it: On his fourth no-hitter he made it a perfect game. And Sandy Koufax, whose name will always remind you of strikeouts, did it with a flourish. He struck out the last six consecutive batters. So when he wrote his name in capital letters in the record books, that "K" stands out even more than the O-U-F-A-X."

• (Famous call from Game 6 of the 1986 World Series)

"A little roller up along first; behind the bag! It gets through Buckner! Here comes Knight and the Mets win it!

• "(Roberto) Clemente could field the ball in New York and throw out a guy in Pennsylvania."

Attributed

• "As the voice of the Dodgers for over 40 years, Vin Scully is recognized as one of the truly great baseball announcers. To baseball fans, including the original Brooklyn Dodgers diehards, Vin is beloved as much as the game of baseball itself.

A native of New York City, Scully spent two years in the Navy before he graduated from Fordham University where he was a varsity basketball player. Scully began his broadcasting career at WTOP-AM in Washington, D.C. In 1950, the late Red Barber, together with Connie Desmond, chose Vin to broadcast the Brooklyn Dodgers games. Thus began Vin's illustrious baseball broadcasting career. In 1982 Vin rejoined the old Red Head, this time in the broadcast wing of baseball's Hall of Fame as the recipient of the Ford Frick Award.

Vin moved with the Dodgers when "Dem Bums" relocated to Los Angeles in 1958. With NBC and CBS Sports, Scully has covered 12 World Series and six All-Star Games for television as well as many of baseball's most thrilling moments. A master of the English language, steeped in the knowledge of the sport and with an understanding of what fans want to "see" and "hear", Vin has enriched and refined the art of sportscasting.

Scully is the recipient of virtually every honor which can be bestowed upon him including the George Foster Peabody Award for excellence in broadcasting. In 1985, Vin was honored by the American Sportscasters Association with it's Sportscaster of the Year Award." –American Sportscasters Association Hall of Fame Plaque Inscription (Scully was inducted in 1992.)

• "At times I'll be listening to him and I'll think, Oh, I wish I could call upon that expression the way he does. He paints the picture more beautifully than anyone who's ever called a baseball game." –Dick Enberg

• "Vin Scully holds the distinction of the longest consecutive service of any current major league broadcaster for one team. When you think of Vin Scully, you think of the Dodgers.

Born in the Bronx on November 27, 1927, Scully began his broadcasting career while attending Fordham University. He announced baseball games over the University’s radio station and also got some experience “in the field” by playing for the team for two seasons.

A year after graduating, Vin joined the Dodgers in 1950, where he worked alongside Radio Hall of Famer and baseball legend Red Barber.

Because he has been with the Dodgers both in Brooklyn and Los Angeles, Scully has described the heroics of some of the greatest players of the second half of the 20th century. The exploits of Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax, as well as the world championship seasons of 1959, 1963, 1965, 1981 and 1988, have unfolded before the perceptive eyes of Vin Scully. In 1965, Scully brought the thrill of Sandy Koufax’s perfect game to Dodger fans everywhere.

Scully is so well-regarded for his mastery of the English language and his enviable demeanor that the “voice of the Dodgers” has become the “voice of the World Series” year after year for the CBS Radio Network. In 1976, Dodger fans voted Scully the “most memorable personality” in Los Angeles Dodger history." –Radio Hall of Fame Plaque Inscription (Scully was inducted in 1995)

• "Vin Scully has the most musical voice in baseball. He doesn't have the clipped, old-time-radio cadence of most broadcasters who date back to the '50s and beyond. Although his timbre is thin, everything is smooth and rounded. The words slide into each other. He has flow. The melody rises and falls on the tide of the game. You can almost hum along to Vin Scully. He's often referred to as baseball's poet laureate, and those who don't get him parody him by quoting Emerson or spouting flowery language. But even though he will occasionally toss off some verse (he's likely to find the lyrics of an old show tune more apt) or call a cheap base hit "a humble thing, but thine own," the real metaphor for Vin Scully isn't poetry, or even music: It's painting. Other radio announcers can tell you what's happening on the field, and you can imagine it. With Vin Scully, you can see it. His command of the language and the game is so masterful that he always has just the right words to describe what's going on. He paints you a picture." – Gary Kaufmann in the Salon e-zine, 2000