I remember the first time I had my own bedroom, when I was about eight years old and I no longer had to share a room with my older sister. For the first several nights I was scared at the prospect of sleeping in a room by myself. Fortunately, it was the summer and my bedtime coincided neatly with Dodger broadcasts. Hearing Vin on my old Hitachi radio was the most comforting thing in the world. As Neel suggested, hearing him made me feel like I wasn't really alone.

When I recall the 91 earthquake, my thoughts all center on his son dying in a helicopter crash whike inspecting powerlines. Just can't get that outof my mind.

Does anyone remember the LA Times article published, I think, just before the '88 season (not talking about the LA Times Magazine article where he was featured on the cover as `the most trusted man in L.A.)? The article started off with him on a plane, opening his briefcase to find a Snickers bar on top...put there by his family. Think that was the same article where he talked about quitting smoking, fighting the cravings by whipping out a picture of his family.

I've heard it said, and know it to be true, that Vinny has never had an unkind word to say about anybody...would that we could all be like that.

Truthfully, I had almost given up hope that such sportswriting was possible which means either a) I'm not reading enough of it or b) sportswriting such as this was much more commonplace in days gone by. Either way, a piece such as this makes for a very good read and it's been a long time since I could say that about the MSM. Thanks, Jon.

You can find people who dislike Vin. There used to be a guy on Baseball Primer (pre-registration days) who just despised Vin. He even said the Dodgers' financial problems were not because of things like Dreifort's contract, but rather because they wasted money on Vin's salary.

Well, Vin's charms are, for the most part, reserved for Angelinos. Bay Area folk, to say nothing of rural Californians, only hear him once in a great while. Nonetheless, could he have any detractors? Reagan was much loved, but also much hated. He was polarizing. Vin is not.

Eric Neel's stuff on ESPN.com is always good too. My earliest memories of Vin are also from 1974, though I was a year Neel's senior. I don't know how many times my mother would confiscate the old transistor radio I got from my grandfather, when I'd fall asleep with it under my pillow, listening to Vinnie. And every time, my Dad would find it, and the cycle would repeat. Good times.

i wanted to make a great (bad) analogy but i'll stop myself short.

it's fun reading a well written look back at memories with a grandfather telling great stories...

--ev

I think the guy was mostly a troll and I'm not surprised he didn't turn up after they switched to registration over there.

But for every person who likes Vin Scully, there is just as likely to be someone who thinks that Phil Rizzuto was the greatest play-by-play man ever.

OK, maybe not him, but Chicagoans will tell you how great Harry Caray was despite his numerous shortcomings.

Sure, I can see others thinking their guy is the best, but that's a non-debate because we don't get to hear everyone's "guy" day in and day out. I was just surprised that anyone would have anything negative to say about Vin. Especially nowadays, when detailed stats, and out-of-town scores, etc., are just a click away, his narrative, conversational approach to the game seems that much more special and necessary. OK, I'm in the cult. I have kool-aid-stained teeth. So be it.

Last year, during a game against the Padres, he noted that the Pads had two batters in a row, both named "Ramon." (It was Ramon Hernandez, I think, and someone else...) He said, "The Ramons, it sounds like a singing group." Then there was a long pause, and he came back with, "I've just been informed that 'The Ramones' WAS a punk rock singing group." Before that instant, I'd sort of figured I'd never hear Vin utter the words "punk rock." And then, bam, there it was.

Number 2, also last year, a game at Pac Bell. Pedro Feliz was playing first, and some Dodger grounded a little squirter towards him. As the ball was spinning, Vin said "There's a little English on that ball." And when Feliz finally fielded the ball, Vin followed with, "And now there's a little Dominican on it."

My point, I guess, is that Vin is awesome.

Anyone remember a game in Cininnati a few years ago wherein Vin discussed his pregame walk downtown, and discovered the existence of size zero dresses? He couldn't get over it - a size zero!

I also love the sunscreen admonitions.

(1) Yet another quote that includes the word melange...
(2) The fact that no one has stooped so low as to bring it up yet...

On his way to Vero Beach in mid-March for the 36th time, Scully, heavy-hearted and looking into the teeth of another eight-month season, plunked down in his seat in the first-class cabin and looked, for once, almost unhappy.

"You get to thinking, 'Well, here I go for two more weeks on the road.' I figured it all out once and I realized that in my career, I've been away from home for something like three full years. Three years. That gets to you. That gets depressing."

When Scully gets depressed, he plunges himself into his work and so it was that he reached up to the overhead bin and pulled down his briefcase to do some.

When he opened it, he found a Snickers candy bar.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, here was Vin Scully, millionaire businessman, baseball's storyteller, distinguished journalist, Peabody Award Winner and Hall of Fame resident, sitting in the first-class cabin of an airplane with a Snickers bar.

He took it out. There was a note attached.

It read:

Dear Daddy,
We'll Miss You,
Love, Us.

As Scully looked up, anybody could see in his eyes that, for at least this one moment, the show did not go on.

There was a day game against the Rockies, in Colorado, I think. Between pitches Vin says, "And warming up in the bullpen for the Rockies is the dream of many a fair maiden." Long pause. What the heck is Vin talking about? "The Rockie reliever? Rich Batchelor." Classic. I'm sure that Vin saw his name on the roster before the game and thought of a good introduction for him.

Nobody else even comes close. Chick used to though.

Okay, a five year old wants to sit on my lap.

Later, my brother got a great transistor radio for Christmas and the games on KFI came in great in the house. If we set the radio on top of the piano and turned it just right, we could actually pick up KMOX out of St. Louis for an inning or two between fade outs and listen to Harry Caray cheering on the Cards.

Even as a Cardinal fan, it just didn't seem right to me that Harry would be so one-sided. Of course, Russ Hodges of the Giants wasn't much different from Harry with his calls of "you can tell it bye bye baby" or, when the Giants were down four or five runs and got a runner on base how they had "a foot in the door."

Hi, everybody, and a very pleasant good evening to you wherever you may be. It is a stressful night in Los Angeles, about 35 years ago, and let's set the scene:

The Dodger announcer has just read the surgeon general's report that smoking is bad for your health, so he has decided to quit. But he needs help. So he turns to the one place of stability in his life. He turns to his family.

In his shirt pocket, where he used to keep his cigarettes, he places a family photo. Whenever he feels like he needs a smoke, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out the photo. He says it reminds him of why he is quitting. For eight months, struggling constantly to break his habit, he reaches into his pocket and touches that photo. It frays and fades, but it never leaves that shirt pocket, never leaves his reach. And after eight months, wouldn't you know it, it works. It really works. Vincent Edward Scully, bless him, never smokes again.