15 greatest calls of Vin Scully's career

Not one to show his age, Vin Scully keeps up with all the trends that are hip with the cool kids. On this particular night, Scully marvels at the beard revolution that has taken Major League Baseball by storm, and has an interesting classification of Jimmy Rollins’ facial styling.

History of the defensive shift

Scully is a terrific announcer, but it was his knowledge of baseball that really separated him from the rest of the pack. A lot of broadcasters will take some shortcuts during the research phase of their work, but Scully really dove deep when it came to the details and the details of those details. His mini dissertation about the defensive shift was one of the best indicators of that dedication to the game.

Satchel Paige at a Miami Marlins game

Scully has present for a number of the greatest moments of baseball, but what may be more impressive is the catalogue of stories he can just whip out in the middle of a meaningless game in the summer. This Satchel Paige gem he seamlessly incorporated into a Dodger game stemmed from the Miami Marlins humble beginnings as a triple-A team. He somehow connected a team that didn’t exist before 1956 to one of the greatest players of all time that never pitched for them. What other announcer can execute that off the cuff?

Jonny Gomes’ wolf problem

A lot of announcers can call the game in front of them, but Vin Scully knew the players he called inside and out to give listeners a more intimate experience. The story he told about Jonny Gomes doesn’t come from articles or a deep dive on the internet. He took the time to talk with the players to get more insight on what motivated them and get interesting tidbits for the air. No one did that better than Scully.

Umpire goes soprano

Only Scully could gracefully make a shot to the family gems a joke on air.

“Catcher” in the Rye

On D-Day, Scully had this harrowing tale involving the “Catcher in the Rye” author on the beaches of Normandy.

History of the American Flag

Baseball history wasn’t the only thing that made it onto the broadcast when Scully was in the booth.

Extinction of Redheads

A self-identified redhead, Scully took time to educate fans about the plight of his people like no one else quite could.

San Diego-Dodgers Brawl

Bench-clearing brawls are a part of the game, but no one can simultaneously report the details leading up to the fight and describe the scene quite like Scully.

Don Larsen’s Perfect Game

Scully had been in the booth three times when a perfect game had been thrown, so it comes to no surprise that one of them the only postseason perfect game ever. Only he would be so lucky.

Hank Aaron’s 715

Vin Scully was a five-year-old when Babe Ruth hit his 714th home run, but he was neither a baseball fan nor present in the ballpark when it happened. He was there when Hank Aaron belted his 715th dinger in Atlanta though.

Sandy Koufax’s Perfect Game

Scully’s career has been marked by incredible calls, but what he was best at was knowing when to get the heck out of the way of the moment. Scully let the craziness of the crowd take over for 38 seconds while he just sat back, letting the listeners soak in a great moment of baseball history.

Buckner

Usually calm and collected during a broadcast, Scully knew when to ramp it up for a big moment. Bill Buckner’s blunder got a rise out of Scully in the booth, and was the exclamation point to one of the most miserable times in Red Sox history.

Kirk Gibson’s World Series shot

“In a year that has been so improbable, the impossible has happened.”

The last game of the greatest World Series ever

Vin Scully + World Series + One-legged hitters = Gold. A lot of people remember Kirby Puckett’s moonshot to force Game 7 in the 1991 World Series, but no one talks about Gene Larkin’s single with an injured knee to actually win the World Series. To no ones surprise, Scully was on hand to call the end of the greatest World Series ever.