Day 162 - Mr. Scully

There's a lot that's been written about Vin Scully, most of which is the general consensus that he's the best announcer calling baseball today, and, at least to almost five generations of Angelinos, the best of all time.

But since his broadcast is only carried on radio for the first three innings, there isn't the constant murmur of his signature voice throughout the stadium like I remember as a child, as most every fan had a pocket radio tuned to him for the duration of the game.

And how rare is it for any broadcaster, save for the nightly news anchors, to be in a shirt and tie? No polo shirt, no team-issued or network apparel. A shirt and tie, always buttoned, always cinched up. No matter how hot the weather, no matter how dull or lopsided the game.

Class. That's going to be Vin Scully's lasting legacy.

Whole Lotta Baseball

It's been a rough first week of the season, with the Angels' Nick Adenhart dying last week, and then the Phillies' Hall-of-Fame announcer Harry Kalas died today after collapsing in the Nationals' press box in Washington. I hate to admit it, but after watching Vin Scully throw out the first pitch for the Dodgers earlier today, I just can't see myself watching or listening to them as much as I do if he wasn't calling the game. I certainly don't listen to them on the radio past the third inning, when Charley Steiner and Rick Monday take over, and when the Dodgers are on the road, I rarely listen to Steiner and Steve Lyons. It's just not the same.

But in perusing today's early box scores during lunch, I noticed that the Pirates' Zach Duke threw 120 pitches in a 7-0 CG /SHO over Houston. 120 pitches? In his second start of the season? Yikes. Who's the Pittsburgh manager again? John Russell - I actually had to look it up. But considering Duke went 5-14 last year, I somehow don't think Russell really wanted to burn up all Duke's wins this early, but hey, what do I know?

UPDATE - What the hell!!! Now I see former Tiger Rookie-of-the-Year Mark "The Bird" Fidrych died today in an accident on his farm in Massachusetts. And Orlando Hudson just hit for the cycle, the first time a Dodger's done it since Wes Parker did it in 1970. THAT'S why I like listening to Vin Scully.