Vin Scully Is The Best Part Of My Favorite Baseball Movie
For those of you unfamiliar, this is from a 1999 film "For Love Of The Game" starring Kevin Costner, and Kelly Preston. Has bit parts from guys like John C Reilly, J.K. Simmons, Brian Cox, Dom from Entourage but most notably legendary announcer Vin Scully. A man who announced The Brooklyn Dodgers and LA Dodgers from 1950-2016. He also called World Series (most notably 1986), 10 NFL Playoff games (3 NFC Championships- most notably the SF-Dallas game (1/10/82) aka "The Catch"), worked on the Masters, and MLB All Star Games. Pound for pound -the best announcer to ever live. Iconic voice.
Vin Scully just passed away and I have no personal connection to him other than admiration and respect of him being the best at his profession. He was always highly regarded in my house, dating back to my grandfather's love for The Brooklyn Dodgers, and my Dad telling us stories at night about how great the 1986 team was; in addition to watching the Buckner clip 45958383993 times in my life since he attended Game 6 with his father in law just a short time before passed (I wrote about that here).
When I got old enough to start putting names with a voice and watch sports more and more, you had to recognize Scully's voice. It was almost bigger than the game itself. It was like no matter how great the talent was on the field, or the impact of a late inning situation - the real show was in the broadcast booth. He had many gifts as a broadcaster, the most notable to me was that it felt like he taught you something every night through his stories.
There's a million of these clips if you really want to go down a rabbit hole, but I think I made my point of how seamlessly he can weave a story into his call of a game. It made it feel like you were watching a game with someone you knew, because let's face it, when you watch a game together with family or friends you talk. Vin Scully was comforting in that sense, you could listen to him and feel like you were with a friend etc. It was a one way conversation but he somehow made it feel like he was talking with you not to you.
It's because of that seamless dialogue, that I adore For Love Of The Game so much. It's without a doubt my favorite baseball movie. Others are good, even great. Field Of Dreams, Moneyball etc. However, to me For Love Of The Game is the best. I always loved the storyline of the game being essentially meaningless for Costner and The Tigers before the first pitch yet it becomes so meaningful, and progressively more and more meaningful as the game goes on. That is baseball in a nutshell. People ask why care about a game "that's too slow", or "why not watch until the last inning?", it's because every night you can see something you have never seen before. All those innings you watch, you can still experience new things. For Love Of The Game does a terrific job of reminding us of that.
Additionally, the movie makes you feel like it's a real game because Scully is calling it, and the way in which he calls it. His metaphors, his comparisons (the pitching against time line is so terrific), his cadence, his sense for the moment ... all of it. It's all terrific. It elevates the movie to a new level. I stand by that. I watch it any chance it's on and even made a girl I was dating keep it on when we were flipping channels (spoiler i think that was where the relationship went sour in her eyes).
In closing, Scully's performance also reminds us that announcers like this are a part of what makes sports great. You hear a guy call games so long you become accustomed to it. In Scully's case he was there doing it before you were born and every waking minute you watched a team play he was on the call. Hell, he was doing it before my father was born. Guys with voices like that become a part of the sport as much as the players. And unfortunately, I think those bigger than life figures are becoming few and far between. It pains me not have Verne Lundquist on a call of college hoops or college football. I don't know how much longer Al Michaels will be calling games. Same for Jim Nantz. When a guy like Vin Scully passes it reminds us nothing last forever, even legends, and to enjoy the guys like him who are the best to ever do it.