You know, having lived in LA all of my life, and having been a die-hard Dodger fan for the last 23 years or so, I am obviously a disciple of Vin Scully. As far as most Dodger fans are concerned, Vin walks on water and can do no wrong. There are those of us who are wondering if there is some way to keep his golden voice going even after his now 80 year-old body quits on him.
And yet, I have to wonder – do people from other areas, fans of other teams, who get a chance to hear him broadast feel the same way? Do you think he deserves all the praise he gets? Is he truly one of the best to ever touch a microphone? Or does he annoy you?
What brings this up is that I’m currently listening to the radio broadcast of the Diamondbacks/Cardinals game via the Cardinals radio station (KTRS, I think). And as much as I’m guessing the Cards fans must love these guys, they are irritating the crap out of me. I just wonder if Vin has that effect on fans of other teams.
And since we’re at it, I’ll open it up a bit. Are there other broadcast legends whom you thought were overhyped and annoying to listen to? I think I’d put Howard Cosell on that list for me.
While nothing compares to the great A’s announcers during the 80’s - Lon “Tell It Goodbye” Simmons and Bill “Holy Toledo” King, Scully is pretty good. I despise the Dodgers (not as much as I hate the Giants but pretty close) but I love baseball. I can, therefore, sit outside on a summer night with a couple of friends, drink some beer, and sit through a Dodger broadcast.
Speaking as a Cardinals fan, we respect Vin Scully as a consumate professional with a deep love and vast knowledge of the game.
That said, Midwestern fans in general tend to prefer announcers who root a little more vigorously for the home team while still respecting the opposition.
But as for the Cardinals own legend, Mike Shannon, fans love him for Shannonisms – the bizarre malaprops, misstatements and odd expressions that leave us scratching our heads.
That’s one of the reasons I love Vin. He does none of that crap. If someone makes an amazing play, Vin is right there with the praise and credit, even if the play just cost the Dodgers the game. I positively loathe announcers who root for the home team. Almost as much as I hate Joe Morgan.
Ditto…I can’t stand “homers” unless I’m listening to a Cubs broadcast (I’m not sure why it’s OK with the Cubs, but it is). Vin has a deep love of baseball, and while you know his heart is with the Dodgers, his broadcasts are as appreciative and as critical of the opposition as they are of the Dodgers.
Sure. I’ve listened to every baseball broadcaster on XM radio and MLB online. There’s no doubt Vin is one of the best. The Diamondbacks don’t really have a tradition yet (although we do have a more recent World Series win). Vin is obviously part of Dodger tradition.
BTW, you should be listening to KTAR, home of the D-backs!
I haven’t heard Vinny announce a game for over twenty years, but he is still the yardstick by which I measure every announcer I have heard since then. I recall sitting in a car in the early 60’s with my dad, listening to a Dodger game called by Vin Scully and Jerry Doggett (is he still doing color?). The way he conjures up the game in your mind is better than TV.
And I still buy Farmer John bacon whenever I am in LA.
I think he’s a cornball, reciting by rote his trite expressions I’ve been listening to since the early sixties without a variation. You could play a tape and,with any luck, get it to support the play-by-play of a current game. He just keeps churning 'em out. No insight, no analysis, so boring.
I’m not a fan. The only thing worse than a game-of-the-week announced by Scully is a gotw by Scully and Garigiola. Thank God I haven’t heard one for a few decades.
Oh, man, do you bring back the memories. I grew up in the desert north of LA (Ridgecrest/China Lake) and heard so many radio Dodgers broadcasts… Farmer John Bacon, Union 76 gasoline; and I can hear Vin Scully’s voice in my mind.
You always knew what was going on on the field, though I will say he’s not as descriptive of atmosphere as some other radio broadcasters were.
Is he better than Jack Buck was? I’m not sure I can go that far.
When I’m listening to a game, I don’t want to hear analysis. Screw that shit. Tell me the pitch count, tell me the score, tell me what the man on first is doing, then shut up. Most of the people doing “analysis” are a joke, anyway. They’ve been retired for 15 years and are in love with the sound of their own voices.
Pat Hughes is one of the best baseball play-by-play guys out there. He could read the phone book and make it interesting. It’s a good thing that the Cubs have Hughes in the radio booth because Ron Santo sucks. I refuse to call him anything remotely related to a broadcaster since that would insult anyone who has ever called a game before. Santo brings nothing but blind homerism to the broadcast and makes it painful to listen.
And I must be one of the few Cardinals fans who doesn’t like Mike Shannon on the radio. I breath a sigh of relief when John Rooney’s innings come up.
How about when you’re WATCHING the game? You’ve got the score, the pitch count, the numnber of men on base, and which base, omnipresent on your screen. What do you need an announcer for? They’re just tits on a bull.
Scully’s actually fairly genial and articulate, as cornballs go. The Mets crew from the 60s through the 1980s, Bob Murphy and Ralph Kiner and (most of that time) Lindsay Nelson had the disadvantages of being cornballs and not being particularly insightful. Most of that generation were (and are) essentially pitchmen, ofr the sponsors and for the baseball team and for MLB, and neither subtle nor clever about it. It puts me off. Red Barber was the best cornball.
Vins voice puts me to sleep. He makes an exiting game seem like a shopping trip.
Harwell always had stories about the players throughout his century of experience. He could entertain you when they were getting blown out.
