The unbreakable bond between Vin Scully and baseball fans

We lost an icon on Tuesday, with Vin Scully dying at his home at age 94. As great a loss as it is, it also provided a chance for so many to share countless wonderful memories of a man who touched so many lives.

Rick Monday, who was calling the game on AM 570 radio, said after the game on SportsNet LA that Giants CEO Larry Baer came into their booth during the game and said they didn’t want to put up anything on the Oracle Park scoeboard about Scully until after the game, because they weren’t sure if the Dodgers players yet knew of his death.

Here is Monday, announcing the news of Scully’s death during the broadcast on AM 570. “For those of us that were touched by him, listened to him, and learned from him, this is a deep loss,” Monday said, through tears. “To the entire Scully family, we send our love, and our respect, and our thanks. This is more than just a game for those that it touches.”

*As an aside, I’m not going to embed any tweets or videos here, with only a few exceptions. I don’t want the page to get bogged down, but you can click each link whether it’s a story or a video to view anything in full.

Remembrances

“He was more than a sports announcer; he became the most trusted public figure in this city’s history,” said Bill Plaschke at the Los Angeles Times. “He was not only the greatest Dodger broadcaster, he was the greatest Los Angeles Dodger, period.”

“He was renowned for his spellbinding monologues, his folksy wisdom and his sense of the moment — some of Scully’s most famous calls revolved around silence, his usage of the crowd to tell a story that words could not justify,” wrote Andy McCullough at The Athletic. “When he spoke, though, he forged an enduring bond with the public.”

“I’ll cry harder tears over others someday, but I can’t imagine I’ll ever cry hard tears like I did tonight — that I’ll scream in my car like I did tonight — for anyone who wasn’t family,” wrote Jon Weisman at Dodger Thoughts. “I guess that means he was family.”

“When he referred to us listeners as ‘friends,’ it was more true than even he would ever know,” wrote Jim Alexander at the Orange County Register. “Vin was a family friend, and his family was anyone who followed the game, even if they weren’t Dodger fans.”

“As the longest tenured broadcaster with a single team in pro sports history, Scully saw it all and called it all,” wrote Beth Harris at Associated Press. “He began in the 1950s era of Pee Wee Reese and Jackie Robinson, on to the 1960s with Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax, into the 1970s with Steve Garvey and Don Sutton, and through the 1980s with Orel Hershiser and Fernando Valenzuela. In the 1990s, it was Mike Piazza and Hideo Nomo, followed by Kershaw, Manny Ramirez and Yasiel Puig in the 21st century.”

“Anyone can tell a story about an extremely famous person and sound cool,” said Molly Knight in her newsletter, The Long Game. “What made Scully the greatest broadcaster to ever do it was the way he brought the same sweetness, wit and enthusiasm to spinning yarns about players whose big league careers might only last one night.”

“Think of Benjamin Franklin. He died in 1790. Work on his papers began in 1950. It’s still ongoing,” wrote Steven Goldman at Baseball Prospectus. “The Complete Baseball Broadcasts of Vin Scully (never mind the football, golf, and game shows) would take even longer.”

“Vin Scully was a gift. He of course was a national presence, but for those of us who grew up with him in Los Angeles, he became a part of our lives, a member of our family,” wrote former Dodger Talk co-host Ken Levine. “I can’t conceive of a world where I can no longer just ‘pull up a chair.’”

“The iconic franchise has had many heroes, including the barrier-breaking Jackie Robinson, the beloved Tommy Lasorda, and the remarkable and reclusive Sandy Koufax,” wrote Anthony Castrovince. “But having entered people’s homes, cars and ears for so long — first in his native New York, then for 58 seasons in Los Angeles — Scully developed a more intimate relationship with fans than any other representative of the Dodgers.”

“We have lost an icon,” said Dodgers president & CEO Stan Kasten. “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. 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.”

Players & broadcasters

“Gone is the greatest chronicler of baseball and any sports. I have lost the architect of my professional life, a dear friend,” fellow legendary broadcaster Jaime Jarrín tweeted.

“He was the Dodgers. Growing up in Southern California, it didn’t matter where you were. If you heard that voice on the radio or on the TV, you knew the Dodgers were playing,” said Justin Turner on SportsNet LA. “A lot of heavy hearts here tonight, hearing that news. But also very appreciative and grateful I had the opportunity to come over here and play in this organization, get to know him, and consider him a friend. It’s a tough night.”

“He was the best there ever was. Just when you think about the Dodgers, there’s a lot of history here and a lot of people who have come through, it’s just a storied franchise all the way around,” said Clayton Kershaw on SportsNet LA. “But it almost starts with Vin, honestly.”

“I think of the melodic tones, I think of his integrity, I think of him being as a role model,” said Orel Hershiser on SportsNet LA. “People are saying a soundtrack, but I would say a voice from our soundtrack of life.”

“Every great city has sounds to it,” said Steve Garvey on MLB Network. “Los Angeles has had one clear sound and that’s been the voice of Vin Scully.”

“I grew up listening to Vin. The way he called games, he just made you feel at home, even in your living room,” said Austin Barnes on SportsNet LA. “He’s kind of like my childhood, growing up.”

“Thank you for shining your light on the game we all love,” Evan Phillips tweeted. “We’ll make you proud.”

“He was a friend and he inspired me to be better,” said Dave Roberts on SportsNet LA. “There’s not a better storyteller. I think everyone considers him family.”

“He just had an aura about him, on and off the field,” said Corey Seager, per Kennedi Landry of MLB.com. “Just a special human being. He touched a lot of people. He went through generations and generations of Dodgers fans, and to touch each and every one of them, that’s special.”

“It’s one thing to achieve excellence... or to achieve greatness,” said Bob Costas on MLB Network. “but with Vin, it was utter mastery. It was breathtaking, the command he had of the craft.”

Video tributes

• MLB Network
• Dodgers
• SportsNet LA intro to postgame show, which was wonderful for several hours.
• Vin’s final sign-off, from 2016

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