Vin Scully, the legendary broadcaster of the Los Angeles Dodgers, retired yesterday. I sat and listened to the final innings of an otherwise entirely unmemorable (for the Dodgers) game just so that I could hear Vinny for the last time. And I didn't watch the TV feed or keep track of things on GameCast; I just listened. Because that's the way I want to remember him.
I teared up a bit at the end there, I'll admit. See, I was one of those kids who used to fall asleep at night listening to Vinny, radio by my side. And I'm not even sure what baseball will sound like without him. He's always been there; the soundtrack to one of my greatest loves.
Yesterday, as he signed off for the last time, I realized that I've got kids who will grow up and become Dodger (and baseball) fans, yet will never have the experience of listening to that smooth, unbiased, poetic, playful Scully sound. And that makes me sad.
But it also makes me incredibly grateful for all the years I've had. While it's not true to say that Scully is the sole reason behind my love of baseball, it is surely true to say that his words and his stories and his style and his character are inextricably linked to it, all the same; I simply would not love baseball the way I do today if not for Vin Scully. So, to quote the man himself, “don’t be sad that it’s over. Smile because it happened."
Thank you, Vin.