Celebrating Vin Scully: The Greatest Sportscaster of All Time

May 2, 2012; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully at press conference to announce their sale of the Los Angeles Dodgers to the Guggenheim baseball management team at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports

It’s no secret: The Los Angeles Dodgers are in an absolute mess right now.

As of this writing, they are 2 1/2 games deep into last place in the National League West after having been anointed as a favorite not only to win the division, but to play in the World Series.

13 Dodgers have been on the disabled list this season, including Matt Kemp – who at .251 having the worst season of his life along with Andre Ethier and his .240 average – Carl Crawford, Zack Grienke and Hanley Ramirez.

The team ranks 28th out of the 30 MLB teams in scoring, and the bullpen’s 14 losses are the worst in the league.

Despite all of that, however, there remains one thing about these Dodgers that is worthwhile and worth watching, one thing that has kept me and millions of others Dodger fans…

This is someone that is one of the Dodgers’ scant few links to Brooklyn, not only being with them in L.A. since their beginnings there in 1958, but also having started with them in 1950 after getting his degree from Fordham University in New York, the legendary Red Barber mentoring him until he became the Dodgers’ main broadcaster in 1953.

Which, incidentally, makes this year his 62nd in the booth.

With sayings such as “Wherever you may be…” and “Pull up a chair and spend part of the evening with us…”, this is someone who, although you most likely have never met him, you regard as a longtime close friend.

I know that many sports broadcasters across America give off that feeling among their fans, for roughly 98% of the people in Los Angeles and the Southern California region – at minimum – it is particularly true with this red-headed gentleman who essentially made the Dodgers an L.A. institution with fans blasting him on their transistor radios at the Coliseum and eventually Dodger Stadium.

March 18, 2012; Glendale, AZ, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers sportscaster Vin Scully waves to the crowd during the third inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Camelback Ranch. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Having been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982 and named the number one baseball broadcaster of all time by MLB Network, these calls of his are among the ones that will never be forgotten:

“Swung on and missed, a perfect game!”, describing Sandy Koufax’s 1965 masterpiece,

“Little roller along first…it gets through Buckner! Here comes Knight and the Mets win it!”, which painted the picture of that incredible comeback in the 1986 World Series,

“Fly ball to deep right field, she is…GONE!”, describing Kirk Gibson’s epic home run in the 1988 World Series, and…

“If you have a sombrero, throw it to the sky!” , which summed up Fernando Valenzuela’s last big moment in Dodger blue, his no-hitter in 1990.

I’m positive that the many millions of Dodger fans out there will agree with me in this assessment of Vin Scully, who with his yarns and exquisite stories has been an influence that has been passed down from generation to generation; he continues to be a significant influence among Los Angelenos to this day.

Which is why I will go out on a limb and state this:

The day that Scully retires for good will be the day I will seriously consider ending my time as a Dodger fan, because to be perfectly blunt Vin Scully is the reason why I remain a part of the Dodgers’ fan base, as was my mother and my grandparents before me.

Players who have worn the Dodger uniform have come and gone, and will always come and go, but Scully has been the one constant, the one thing about this blue-clad franchise that can be depended on.

Indeed, my one baseball wish, which is definitely on my “bucket list”, is to one day meet this great man and spend one inning with him in the booth at Dodger Stadium, which was named after him a few years back. It would, quite simply, fulfill my sports dream.

Until that day comes, however, I’ll be content with listening to Vin Scully, who I consider (along with countless others) the greatest friend I have never met.

Please enjoy what KTLA News considers Scully’s five greatest calls: