On Friday, Scully’s final series at Dodger Stadium commenced, and the team marked the occasion with a pregame ceremony to honor the living legend.
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While the Los Angeles Dodgers continue to battle for a playoff spot, the organization paused for a pre-game ceremony on Vin Scully Appreciation Day to honor the broadcaster.
Scully, who has broadcast Dodgers games since 1950, will call his final Dodger home game on Sunday before calling his final game on the road against the San Francisco Giants on October 2.
“Hi everybody, and a very pleasant good evening to you”, he said, nearly mischievously.
You folks have truly been “The Wind Beneath My Wings” and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for joining me on this incredible journey of 67 years of broadcasting Dodger baseball.
“When you roar, when you cheer, when you are thrilled”, he said, “for a brief moment, I am 8 years old again”. “There is one group I really feel I must thank – you people sitting in the stands”, Scully said. “I owe you everything”. I have always felt that I needed you more than you needed me and that holds true to this very day. “I have been privileged to share in your passion and love for this great game”.
Actor Kevin Costner, baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred, Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax and Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw were among the speakers paying tribute to Scully. With Scully’s final game as a Dodgers broadcaster scheduled for Sunday, he made note of his plans for the future. It was Reddick’s fourth career slam and the seventh this season for the Dodgers.Justin Turner, Adrian Gonzalez and Joc Pederson drove in two runs apiece as the Dodgers (89-66) reduced their magic number to one to capture their fourth straight National League West title.The Rockies (73-82) lost their third in a row.Kershaw retired the first 11 batters he faced before Nolan Arenado hit a two-out single in the fourth inning.
“It’s tough for me to swallow only going one inning and having the bullpen pick us up, and me up, but that’s what they did”, said Kazmir, who said he was removed for precautionary reasons.
“I’m looking for a much smaller house and a much larger medicine cabinet”, he said. In 1958, when the Dodgers moved west and played at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, fans toted radios to hear Scully describe the players and action that was too far away to see well in the vast stadium.
Carrasco says the team is unsure of what the availability of Scully items will be during the postseason.
He has been the voice of the Los Angeles Dodgers for longer than most of their fans have been alive.
Costner has been a part of three iconic baseball movies, “Bull Durham”, “Field of Dreams” and “For Love of the Game”, a film that included Scully as a broadcaster who calls a flawless game thrown by Costner’s character, Billy Chapel.
We’ll miss you, Vin.
“You’re our George Bailey, and it has been a wonderful life”, Costner said. “I was just trying to keep us in the game without it. And shame on us if you ever have to pay for another meal in public”.
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Los Angeles Dodgers’ Andre Ethier, center, is congratulated by manager Dave Roberts after hitting a home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies, Friday, Sept. 23, 2016, in Los Angeles. Scully called Robinson’s career when he broke the sport’s color barrier in 1947. After all, Vin Scully is the “Star Wars”, “Jurassic Park”, “Jaws” and “ET” of baseball broadcasters.
