As I began writing this post, MLB.com’s Corey Brock came out with a Q&A with Enberg where he recalls being paired with former Dodger Don Drysdale in the Angels’ broadcast booth, starting way back in 1973:

“When Don Drysdale became my partner … life became brilliant. It didn’t matter if you were winning or losing. With Drysdale, the broadcasts were fun. Being with Don … he wouldn’t let you get down. I would take the losses too seriously and he would say, “C’mon professor” — he would always call me professor — “they don’t care, so you shouldn’t care. I’ll buy you a drink.” I’ve been fortunate to have so many great colleagues. With baseball, you’re with that man more than in any other sport. He was always happy. It was a shame he went too quickly.”

Geoff Baker with The Seattle Times also has a fun story on running into Enberg the other day in Peoria, where the Padres and Mariners share a Spring Training facility.

I’m really looking forward to hearing Enberg call a few innings of a Dodgers-Padres game or two, and am always thrilled when another broadcasting powerhouse comes to Southern California.  Welcome, Dick!

Photo Credit: The Seattle Times

Vin Scully

Fans are overjoyed at the news (see examples here). Many, like me, grew up listening to Vin on the radio and bringing the game to life in our minds. Now that I live in Arizona I relish getting back to the radio feed and catching up on the action while monitoring the GameTrax. Vin Scully’s ability to help bring the users in to the intracacies of the game using nothing more than his gentle voice is truly remarkable and something I feel privileged to be able to enjoy again for the 2010 season.

Thanks, Vin – hopefully the Dodgers will get you a world series berth as a thank-you gift.

Vin Scully

It’s impossible to accurately describe the service that Vin Scully provides to Dodger fans everywhere, but the Wall Street Journal has a nice profile piece appearing in Wednesday’s edition of the paper. 

The story is now available online and is well worth a read.  And as I sit here watching the 10th inning of the one game playoff between the Twins and the Tigers on TBS, I’m reminded once again how fortunate we are to have Vin guide us through each season.

Vin was also the subject of a “One on One” interview during the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer on PBS.  The full transcript follows the link and is a great look at the legendary broadcaster’s style and approach to life.

Following is a great  line from the WSJ article:

More important, Mr. Scully, who’s 81, wasn’t just setting the atmosphere but building a rapport with his audience. “I don’t announce,” he told me in an interview before Saturday’s game. “I have a conversation.”

Truer words were never spoken.

Photo Credit: The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer (PBS)

Joe Torre is amazing…
Last Thursday…2 outs, bottom of the 8th in St. Louis…game tied, 3-3…man on 3rd…Hong-Chih Kuo on the mound…he just struck out Ryan Ludwick…the fastball was working…next batter, Albert Pujols…Joe Torre comes to the mound…usually, Joe makes a pitching change, but instead, there was a conversation…pitch to Pujols or walk him intentionally?…we got our answer 4 pitches later – the intentional walk…so, up steps Matt Holliday – probably the hottest hitter in the NL since his trade from Oakland…I was thinking that you pitch around one great hitter to face a hot hitter?…interesting…

…then I was amazed…Kuo walked Holliday intentionally to load the bases!…this setup a lefty-lefty matchup with Rick Ankiel…in a classic battle, Ankiel swung at all 3 pitches he saw…all 3 of them were fastballs…and he didn’t make contact on ANY of them!…the Dodgers escaped and eventually won the game in 10 innings…wow!

Joe Torre is amazing, part 2…
In Atlanta on Sunday, Chad Billingsley was pitching a great game…he had 9 strikeouts in 5 innings while holding the Braves to just 2 hits and no runs…a freak hyperextension of Billingsley’s left knee led to Joe Torre pulling him after the 5th for precautionary reasons…I don’t blame him…why risk further injury at this point of the season?…our goal is to win in October, so let’s take care of our guys…

Billingsley was slated to lead off the top of the 6th inning…because the Dodgers were short of bench players (only 3 hitters were available on Sunday), Joe went to power hitting pitcher, Jason Schmidt, to pinch hit…Schmidt has 7 career home runs…what did Torre have to lose?…anyway, Jason lined a 1-1 pitch back up the middle for a single and eventually came home to score the 5th run of the game…the Dodgers went on to win, 9-1.

George Sherrill Trade
Have you guys fallen in love with George Sherrill yet?…as I mentioned in a previous post, he’ll be great out of the bullpen for us and gives us another strong lefty for matchup situations (ie – the Phillies lineup) or be the 8th inning setup guy for Broxton in the 9th…in just 2 appearances (1.1 innings), he has 3 strikeouts, 1 hold, 0 hits and 0 runs allowed…of course, we’ve only seen him twice…sooner or later, he’ll get touched up for a hit, maybe even a run…until then, the Dodgers got the better end of this trade…

Vin Scully’s Farewell Tour
The LA Times published an article last week challenging the Dodgers to send out the great Vin Scully in style…Vin announced he will come back for one more year in the booth before retiring after an incredible career…here’s my 2 cents on what should be done…#1 – Dodgers win the World Series this year and next year!…win it for Vin!…#2 – next season, let Vin choose 81 Dodger greats (1 for each home game) from his days of broadcasting and have that player, manager, coach or Dodger employee take part in throwing out the first pitch and then come up to the booth so Vin can share some great memories with that person…let VIN choose the 81, not the Dodgers…simulcast all 81 of those home games so fans can take part in the farewell – whether you are watching on TV or listening in your car on the radio…that would be awesome…

Yup, it’s true.  While Alex and his wife were settling in at home with their new daughter, I was on vacation in Hawaii.  Of course I needed to get my daily Dodgers fix, and with that I give you the Major League Baseball’s iPhone application At Bat 2009. 

It’s on the spendy side at $9.99, but that, my friends, is truly a small price to pay for having the opportunity to select the live radio broadcast of ANY ongoing game in the major leagues (no blackouts – if the game’s going on, you can listen).  I found it fascinating to listen to Vin call a play, and then immediately after a big moment, I’d switch over to hear the opposing broadcast team react.  Pretty damn cool.  And if you didn’t appreciate the beautiful cadence and rhythm of Scully’s storytelling, then this is the service that will make you appreciate it.

Lot’s of other people love this app too.  Apparently MLB and Apple have sold more than 130,000 copies in less than one month since it was released.

Oh, the app does a ton of other cool things for the inner baseball geek in all of us: scoreboard updates, pitch-by-pitch summaries, game recaps, etc.  This has got to my favorite new iPhone application…frankly, there’s nothing better than lying on the beaches of Oah’u in the late afternoon after a long day of surfing and hear that distinctive voice say those immortal words: “It’s time for Dodger baseball!”

Pretty damn cool, indeed.

Hard to believe Kirk Gibson’s legendary, series-changing home run in Game 1 if the 1988 World Series was 20 years ago today.  I remember it well: I was 18 and on a college tour with my parents somewhere on the East Coast.  At that moment, I was watching the game with my mom and explaining the improbability of the Dodgers winning the series without Gibson in the game.  It ranks as my favorite Dodgers moment of all time, and I can still hear Vin Scully in my head saying incredulously, “The impossible has happened!”  How can that not give you chills?  Hard to believe that was the first come from behind, walk-off HR in World Series history.

I wish I could pull the clip from Ken Burns’ “Baseball” documentary, as he put together a great piece on “the moment,” interviewing everyone associated with this game, but instead I found the clip on YouTube.  Rather than rehashing a moment we all know so well, I thought I would share other’s takes on the home run from the Detroit Free-Press (this is great) and the Los Angeles Times.

So where you, Dodger fans?  Let’s hear your stories!  And Gibby, dust off those cleats and meet us out at the Ravine…we need you for Game 5!

There’s a nice article on Vin Scully in the current issue of Variety.  One interesting tidbit from the story: Scully has broadcast more than 10,000 games over 59 years with the Dodgers.  Think about it.  59 years!  While those are staggering numbers for any career, it’s even more remarkable when you recall that it’s all with one team in two cities.  I know Tommy Lasorda gets a lot of votes when you talk about who best represents the heart and soul of the Dodgers, but for me no one compares to Vin Scully.

One last tip: if you want to hear Vin call some legendary games from the 50’s and 60’s, be sure and visit the Museum of Television and Radio in either New York or Los Angeles.  In both locations you can visit an audio/visual library and sit and listen to a selection of games they have on file.  It’s an amazing experience and will make you appreciate Vin’s talents all the more.