4 memorable calls to celebrate Vin Scully's 88th birthday

Pick out one of baseball's most enduring moments from the last seven decades or so. More likely than not, Vin Scully watched it unfold and described it to the masses with an eloquence and calculated lyricism that - even after 66 seasons of calling MLB games - hasn't wavered a bit.

Scully, who will begin his final season in the booth this summer, celebrated his 88th birthday on Sunday, so let's celebrate the broadcasting icon by reliving some of his most memorable calls:

"There's a high drive into deep left-center field ... "

In 1974, Hank Aaron's dogged pursuit of baseball's most hallowed record finally ended on an April evening in Atlanta, when he smashed an Al Downing sinker over the left-center fence for his 715th career homer. Aaron's quest to break Babe Ruth's record was a harrowing one, though, marred by death threats from bigots who didn't want to see an African-American become history's all-time home run king. Scully's call perfectly encapsulated the personal (and cultural) catharsis of Aaron's historic blast, showcasing both his empathetic nature and acute sense of sociohistorical context.

What a marvelous moment for baseball; what a marvelous moment for Atlanta and the state of Georgia; what a marvelous moment for the country and the world. A black man is getting a standing ovation in the Deep South for breaking a record of an all-time baseball idol. And it is a great moment for all of us, and particularly for Henry Aaron, who was met at home plate not only by every member of the Braves, but by his father and mother.

"Behind the bag! It gets through Buckner ... "

The most famous gaffe in baseball history precipitated an equally memorable call from Scully, who deferred to crowd noise for more than three minutes after Ray Knight scampered home for the improbable winning run in Game 5 of the 1986 World Series.

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

Kirk Gibson wasn't in the starting lineup for Game 1 of the 1988 World Series after injuring both legs during the NLCS. Instead, he watched most of the game on television in the Dodgers' clubhouse while undergoing physical therapy. When he hobbled to the mound in the bottom of the ninth inning, Scully was just as shocked as everyone else. "And, with two out, you talk about a roll of the dice ... this is it ... " So, when Gibson made history with his pinch-hit home run, Scully picked the most fitting word to describe it: impossible.

"Got him! He's done it ... "

Almost 40 years after Sandy Koufax tossed his fourth (and final) no-hitter, another preternaturally gifted Dodgers left-hander accomplished the feat, with Scully's dulcet tones narrating all nine innings of Clayton Kershaw's magical night back in 2014. Between his perfect characterization of Kershaw's curveball - "That's not fair" - to his whimsical description of Kershaw's wife, Ellen, nervously watching from the outfield seats, Scully's performance on this evening rivaled that of the young left-hander.