It’s no secret the weather in Southern California is great.\u00a0 It is the reason many people come here, to vacation or to live.\u00a0 Other than a few days of rain each year the weather is very constant and almost always warm and sunny.\u00a0 To be a weatherman in LA has to be one really boring job.\u00a0 I like to joke with my wife each year about the weather on the day of the Rose Parade in Pasadena.\u00a0 There they are, all those folks surviving freezing weather in other parts of the country, tuning in to the Tournament of Roses Parade –\u00a0 invariably held on a beautiful warm winter’s day.\u00a0 It has to make some of them just want to pack up and go west.\u00a0 I tell my wife we could ease the crowding here in LA if we had just one Rose Parade held during a huge storm…but it never works out that way.<\/p>\n
Well in case you haven’t figured it out, there is a very simple reason why LA has enjoyed such a perpetual summer.\u00a0 It has nothing to do with sun spots, El Nino or trade winds.\u00a0 You see this great weather began in the year 1958, the year the Dodgers moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles and brought with them their young red-headed announcer – a man by the name of Vincent Edward Scully.\u00a0 (But we all know him as Vin or Vinny)\u00a0 And every year since 1958 Vin Scully has been the voice of the Los Angeles Dodgers.\u00a0 But it has become so much more than that.\u00a0 To baseball fans in LA, Vin Scully has become the voice of baseball and the voice of summer.\u00a0 As long as I can remember Vinny has been as much a part of summer as trips to the beach and outdoor barbecues.\u00a0 The same experience is shared by anyone under the age of 62, for that is how many years this sweet and gentle man has been at the microphone.\u00a0 Virtually none of us has ever known another voice of the Dodgers.\u00a0 (Virtually none of us can claim to be at the top of our game after 62 years either).<\/p>\n
What an honor and a privilege it has been to share every summer with Vinnie, and believe me – when you hear his voice, it IS summer.\u00a0 As a child I have vivid memories of going to see the Dodgers and being surrounded by fans with transistor radios and little gray earpieces, so they could listen to Vin while they watched the game.\u00a0 In fact there were so many that you could still hear his voice even if you didn’t bring your own radio.\u00a0 If you have never heard Vinnie call a baseball game I pity you.\u00a0 What a master of ease and comfort, and what a genius at knowing when NOT to speak.\u00a0 Some of the greatest moments in Dodger baseball are remembered as such because Vin just stopped talking and let the crowd say what needed to be said.\u00a0 But when he does talk I swear it feels like we’re just like two good friends, sitting together in the bleachers.<\/p>\n
The best news here in LA is that Vin Scully has agreed to be the voice of the Dodgers again next year.\u00a0 That means for at least one more year it will be summer!\u00a0 As a sports writer recently pointed out<\/a>, there isn’t a player on the current Dodger roster that would rouse much regret if they were traded away this coming off-season.\u00a0 But if we lose Vin, we lose summer.\u00a0 And it has been such a long and glorious summer. I wish it would never end.<\/p>\n If you’d like to hear Vinnie and you never have, may I suggest you rent the Kevin Costner film, “For The Love Of The Game<\/a>“.\u00a0 Vinnie is the voice in the film doing the play-by-play for the big game.\u00a0 If you’d like to get a glimpse of Vinnie out from behind the microphone keep an eye out for a replay of the television special called “Scully & Wooden For The Kids<\/a>”\u00a0 It is a live interview benefit done by LA Times sportswriter, T.J. Simers.\u00a0 It consists of a marvelous chat with Vin and the legendary UCLA basketball coach, John Wooden.\u00a0\u00a0 Sadly the program has only aired twice.\u00a0 But the very best way to experience Vin Scully is by listening to a Dodger broadcast.\u00a0 And even in a year like this one, when the Dodgers are not doing well, it’s still bearable thanks to Vin. He is simply the very best at what he does – delivering summer every year, right on time!<\/p>\nShare this:<\/h3>