The Tragic Death Of Legendary Dodgers Broadcaster Vin Scully
Vin Scully, the legendary broadcaster for the Dodgers, who followed them from Brooklyn to Los Angeles and whose tenure for the team spanned 67 seasons, died on August 2, the team confirmed in a statement. He was 94 years old.
"It's time for Dodgers baseball!" Scully would always say. Once lauded as the "sports broadcaster of the 20th century" by the American Sportscasters Association, he was known for his velvet voice and impeccable ability to connect with his audience. "Vin's broadcasts are simultaneously past and present. It's tonight's game, but it's also every game you ever listened to, or every game you ever watched, even if he didn't call it, because in some sense his voice transports you to whatever time in your life you wanted to go," Bob Costas of NBC Sports told Tampa Bay Times in 2016 when Scully bid goodbye from his post. "His broadcasts are flashback and news bulletin at the same time, the present and nostalgic."
Scully was inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame in 1982, becoming only one of the few announcers to have been given the honor. He also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama in 2016, as well as a recipient of the George Foster Peabody Award for excellence in broadcasting.
The sports world mourns Vin Scully's death
There's no denying Vin Scully was truly one of the greats. "We have lost an icon," Dodgers president and CEO Stan Kasten said in a statement on Twitter. "The Dodgers Vin Scully was one of the greatest voices in all of sports. He was a giant of a man, not only as a broadcaster, but as a humanitarian." Kasten added, "He loved people. He loved life. He loved baseball and the Dodgers. And he loved his family. His voice will always be heard and etched in all of our minds forever."
It didn't take long until his fellow reporters, fans, and other prominent figures in sports shared their tributes. "He was just as popular as any Dodger player. His legacy will live on throughout Major League Baseball & he will be remembered as the greatest announcer ever in MLB history," NBA superstar Magic Johnson wrote. "Vin Scully was not just the voice of #Dodgers but the voice of #MLB. He was the standard & Godfather of #MLB Broadcasters," MLB analyst Jim Bowden said in a tweet.
In his final Dodgers broadcast in 2016, Scully offered everyone his ever-reassuring words. "You and I have been friends for a long time, but I know in my heart I've always needed you more than you've ever needed me. And I'll miss our time together more than I can say," he mused, per USA Today. "I have said enough for a lifetime... So this is Vin Scully, wishing you a very pleasant good afternoon – wherever you may be."