Let the rejoicing begin: Vin Scully, who began his broadcast career in 1950 with the Brooklyn Dodgers, will return for his 66th season behind the mic, according to an announcement by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Scully, 86, is still a marvel: if you can, take a minute on mlb.com to check out his deliveries. He’s still one of the top announcers of the game, relating stories (he still has, at his fingertips, the details of every obscure trade ever made by the Dodgers and every almost-forgotten play by a long-departed fielder) and adding incisive commentary.
“It is very difficult to say goodbye,” Scully said via press release. “God willing I will be back next year. Over the years I have been blessed to have so many friends including those that sit in the stands and listen as well as those at home, who listen and watch. It is just too hard to say goodbye to all these friends. Naturally there will come a time, when I will have to say goodbye, but I’ve soul-searched and this is not the time.”
Scully’s 65 years of service mark the longest tenure in his field. He will continue to call all nine innings of the team’s television broadcasts on Time Warner Cable’s SportsNet LA, with the first three innings of each of his games also simulcast on the radio.
“I’m obviously not alone in saying that I’m overjoyed Vin will be coming back to the booth in 2015,” said Dodger President and CEO Stan Kasten. “Our fans deserve the very best and Vin’s voice, knowledge, experience and passion for broadcasting Dodger baseball are second to none.”
Scully began his professional baseball broadcasting career in 1950 with the Brooklyn Dodgers. During his unmatched career, he has called three perfect games, 25 World Series and 12 All-Star Games. Iconic moments called by Scully include Kirk Gibson’s miraculous Game 1 homer in the 1988 World Series, Don Larsen’s perfect game in the 1956 World Series, Hank Aaron’s record-setting 715th home run, Sandy Koufax’s four no-hitters, including a perfect game, the scoreless-inning streaks of Dodger greats Don Drysdale and Orel Hershiser and just this year, the first career no-hitter by two-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw.
When Scully began broadcasting, the Dodgers had yet to win a World Series. Three years later, at the age of 25, he became the youngest person to ever broadcast a World Series game. In 1955, he had his most memorable moment behind the microphone, as he called the Dodgers’ first and only championship in Brooklyn.
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