Vin Scully was one of a kind.
Scully, who died Tuesday at age 94, had the ability to touch just about anybody from the broadcast booth. He did more than just call baseball games - he welcomed you into the booth with open arms, wove unique stories and anecdotes into his play-by-play, and painted pictures of the ball field with his voice. For generations of fans in Los Angeles, Brooklyn, and around the world, Vin Scully was more than an announcer, he was your friend. Your extra grandparent putting you to sleep at night. He was the sound of baseball.
Scully may be gone, but as an icon of the sport, his voice will live on forever. Narrowing down 67 years of work into a "best-of" compilation is nearly impossible, but we'll do our best.
Pull up a chair, pop in your AirPods (or a transistor radio if you feel so inclined), and enjoy the very best of the incomparable Vin Scully. Then tell us about your favorite Vin moment in the comments.
Cora's 18-pitch at-bat
A seemingly innocuous May at-bat turned into a nail-biter as Alex Cora and Matt Clement engaged in an epic 18-pitch battle. Vin sounds as giddy as a child chronicling this moment. You get the feeling even he'd never seen anything like this.
Fernando's no-no
At the start of the ninth, Scully notes the date "in case some day, long from now, Fernando is playing this back to his grandchildren." Then, when he finishes it off, he recognizes Valenzuela's native Mexico: "If you have a sombrero, throw it to the sky." Those little details are what made Vin so special.
Storytime
Vin's stories, weaving in and out of the action, were always a treat. The history of beards. Childhood pranks. A biography of Socrates. Friday the 13th. Madison Bumgarner saving a baby rabbit. Jonny Gomes surviving a wolf attack. And that's only a few of them. For our money, his most enthralling tale was the time he raced Jackie Robinson on ice skates.
"Happy birthday, Frank!"
Scully's relationship with Dodgers fans was something special. In 2020, he told the story of how he once got the L.A. Coliseum crowd - listening in from the stands via transistor radio - to wish umpire Frank Dascoli a happy birthday. Scully did something similar in 2012 when he successfully urged viewers to get A.J. Ellis trending on Twitter.
The Catch
Outside of baseball, Scully lent his talents to golf, game shows, very weird sitcoms, and, most famously, the NFL. Though he was great at it, he only called the sport for seven years, and "The Catch" - Joe Montana to Dwight Clark in the 1981 NFC Championship - was his final football game. Talk about leaving on a high note.
Kershaw's no-hitter
Scully called 23 no-hitters during his career, and it sounds like he had a ton of fun doing Kershaw's. When he says there's "one miserable, measly out" left, you can feel the knots in Scully's stomach. He keeps it even-keeled, but his enjoyment of the moment and happiness for Kershaw is palpable.
Last call in L.A.
Of course, the Dodgers provided Scully with one last magic moment. His final call at Dodger Stadium was Charlie Culberson's NL West-clinching homer. Amid the celebration, the team then stopped to salute Scully, who addressed the players and fans in a truly moving moment.
Don Larsen's perfect game
Only one perfect game has been thrown in the World Series. Naturally, a young Scully was there to chronicle it. Naturally, he nailed it.
Buckner's boot
Scully builds the tension perfectly during Mookie Wilson's epic at-bat, leading up to Bill Buckner's infamous error and delirium at Shea Stadium. As his nearly two minutes of silence tells you, he's as shocked and confused by what just happened as you are at home.
Kirk Gibson's home run
Everyone knows the moment itself, but listen to the entirety of Gibson's nearly 10-minute at-bat. He's working the game on TV, but it sounds like a radio call. He explodes with amazement when the ball goes out, but lets the fans take it home for over a minute. This might be the best example of Scully using the crowd like an instrument. It's a masterclass of sports broadcasting.
715
Henry Aaron hit his 715th home run against the Dodgers, so Scully was there in Atlanta. How fortunate we were for that. After letting the crowd tell the story for several minutes (this video cuts his silence down slightly), Scully returns to speak to the moment's social significance. Only then does he begin to describe the jubilant scene on the field. During a 2016 interview, Scully named this his "most important" call.
Sandy Koufax's perfect game
Vin's magnum opus. A perfect call for a perfect performance, and he did it entirely off the top of his head. Video footage of Koufax's perfect game doesn't exist, but you don't need it because Scully paints a picture of Dodger Stadium for you. Pull up a chair, listen to the entire ninth inning, and find yourself transported back to September 1965. Then, for a different perspective, try reading his impeccable call, and remember: he said all of this on the fly.
The final sign-off
After 67 years, Scully signed off in emotional and humble fashion on Oct. 2, 2016 - exactly 80 years to the day that he fell in love with baseball.
Rest in peace, Vin. Baseball is better because of your voice.
