Vin Scully Poem by gershon hepner

“I don’t announce, ” explained once Vin,
“I have a conversation.”
Whether Dodgers lose or win
I always feel elation,
and even losses do not sully,
for when they underwhelm,
I get much comfort from Vin Scully,
conversing at the helm.

His conversation brings to life
the spirit of the game,
to Dodger baseball like a wife
whom it is hard to blame
when losing, like the Dodgers, badly,
which happens all too often,
a blow that like a wife he sadly
manages to soften.

Inspired by an article on Vin Scully by Mark Yost in the WSJ, October7,2009 (“The Artful Dodgers’ Voice”) :
The Major League Baseball playoffs begin tonight, and with them will come justifiable criticism of some of the abysmal sports commentary that regularly trudges across the airwaves. For a refreshing change, I would direct listeners to the smooth tenor voice and pithy commentary of Vin Scully. This is Mr. Scully's 60th year in the Los Angeles Dodgers broadcast booth, and he is nothing short of the best play-by-play man working in sports today. The pregame banter for the first of three recent Rockies-Dodgers games was filled with information you could have gleaned from the morning paper or a blog. The Dodgers needed just one win to clinch the National League West (which they did Saturday night) : a Phillies loss helped the Dodgers secure the best record in the National League. When Mr. Scully finally took the mike, he distinguished himself in just one sentence. ”It's a very pleasant Friday night here in Los Angeles, ' he said, telling radio listeners from Petaluma to Panama City something they couldn't possibly have known unless they were here at the game. 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.' But once the game starts, Mr. Scully is all business. From the first pitch, you need the skills of a court stenographer to keep up with the facts and figures—all interesting and relevant—that he weaves effortlessly into a dialogue that's nothing short of poetic…. The Dodgers host the Cardinals tonight to start the National League Division Series. The game will be broadcast nationally using the latest high-definition television technology. But I'd argue that the clearest picture of the game will come via radio and, as has been the case for the past six decades, it will come from Mr. Scully.


10/7/09