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Q & A With Vin Scully
Q: How many games do you think you've broadcasted?
A: Oh, I have no idea. I've never done the math, but a lot of games.
Q: Do you remember all of them?
A: Oh, no. Nor do I try to. After awhile, everything becomes one great big blue mist. I don't trust my memory. If I really need to be factual, I'll go to the book or to someone I know.
Q: Is it still as exciting in year No. 54 as it was in year No. 1?
A: It really is, and it's an amazing thing. I guess my body is my thermometer as far as interest in the game. I still get goose bumps when a good play is made. I still really feel the excitement. I think the day that I don't would be time to hang it up. It's been a long, endless love affair right up to this moment.
Q: After all of these years, what is the best Dodgers team that you've seen?
A: There have been a lot of good ones, successful teams. The '55 team that won the World Series, that was a big deal for the borough of Brooklyn. The '63 team that swept the Yankees in four, that had to be a memorable team. The '81 and '88 teams were also winners. The '65 team was also a winner. There were a lot of them, so I wouldn't want to pick one. I would just say they are the most successful.
Q: What was baseball like in Brooklyn?
A: First of all, the ballpark was very small, very, very intimate. The team was more than just a team. The Brooklyn Dodgers were a team to answer the lordly spires of Manhattan. They answered the putdown of the people from the Bronx. It was a melting pot of people who felt united by the team. The travails of the team, the financial problems of the team fitted the populace like a glove or a tailored-made suit, so they lived and died by the team.
Q: Is there anything in baseball today that's close to the relationship between the Brooklyn Dodgers and their fans?
A: I don't know. I live within in the National League, so I'm not really sure. All I know is what it was, and it was rather memorable.
Q: Who are the best players you have seen?
A: In a nutshell, the best all-around, complete player I ever saw was Willie Mays. As far as the Dodgers, it's simple. Just look up of all those who made All-Stars and those who are in the Hall of Fame, and you get the idea of all the great players I have been fortunate to watch. Not only the Dodgers, but in both leagues because of the World Series, I've just been extremely fortunate. I got this job at a very young age, and God has allowed me to do it for all these years, so my only feeling is one of overall gratitude and thankfulness.
Q: Will there ever be broadcasters again like Vin Scully?
A: I don't know. I know one thing. When I was in Brooklyn, there were three announcers in the booth, the great Red Barber, the great Connie Desmond and the kid, me. That relationship, I believe, will never be duplicated. That relationship boiled down to, and came out over the air, as the father, Red Barber; the older brother, Connie Desmond; and the kid. Whatever that relationship brought to the booth, it apparently came out over the air. Those people in Brooklyn who were exposed to it have told me that they don't expect to ever hear anything like it again.
