Dicky V is the most interesting color commentary man in all of NCAA college basketball. He has been with ESPN since their first college basketball game broadcast in 1979 and they have not let go of the iconic voice of college basketball ever since. Even today, CBS has attempted to hire him on to be a color man for the first two rounds of NCAA tournaments, but ABC and ESPN will simply not allow him to do a game for anyone aside from themselves. This is for good reason, as his unique sayings, delivery, and slight speech impediment have taken the nation by storm.
Although Vitale does catch some fire for his over-animated and sometimes corny style of broadcasting, a vast majority of college basketball fans love him. He, like Harry Caray who I discussed in my last blog, is a people person who despite his flaws in comparison to a stereotypical sportscaster stands out in the right way to attract attention to himself in a mostly positive light. It would be tough to argue that there is anyone out there who loves the college basketball more than Dicky V if you've listened to one of his broadcasts.
I am going to go as far as to compare him to the rap great Eminem right now. Eminem has made a multi-platinum musical career off of yelling into the microphone with a controlled style in his music. People can tell Eminem is a passionate individual when it comes to music simply by listening to him. Dick Vitale, although much older and more frail sounding, has done the same thing apparently. It usually is a rule not to yell into a microphone but whether it be the way he talks, or a real true yell coming out of his mouth, he has a method of controlling his volume to simply make it sound like he is an excited old man. Add in an adorable speech impediment and unique method of pronouncing words and you have Dicky V.
When it comes to his choice of words during the broadcast, Vitale has (somehow) made the terms "yeah baby" and "diaper dandy" waaaaayyy more famous than they should ever be. He uses them often, but he also uses them at the right time. A diaper dandy is a really talented freshmen player who Vitale has fallen in love with talent-wise. "Yeah Baby... thats just how you know something exciting happened. A third tool in the Vitale arsenal is "unbelievable" which is usually what immediately follows the "yeah baby." Add in about 25,785 other sayings that you have either never heard before or only have heard a few times from your grandpa, and THAT is the official Vitale style.
Don't believe me? Just check out the Champions' Classic tourney on ESPN along with all the other games which the cable network will broadcast this season. Chances are, Dicky V is doing it, and chances are you will agree with me on the saying thing after watching just one game and listening closely for it.
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Monday, November 11, 2013
"Holy Cow" How Was Harry Caray so Famous?
Harry Christopher Carabina became a household name despite mispronouncing names, slurring his words, being a major homer (favoring the home team), rambling during his broadcasts, being over-opinionated about players and coaches, sometimes not even giving combining the first and last names of players correctly, and well renowned love of alcohol.
Harry Caray as he is better known got away with a lot of things a normal sportscaster would never make a 50+ year career out of if they did the same things he did. Harry Caray was a highly sought after voice in the world of baseball, however, from the mid-1950's all the way till the late 80's during his most memorable and antic-filled times with the North side Chicago Cubs. Things started for Caray back in St. Louis in 1945 when he got his break due to his ability to sell Anheuser-Busch beer to the radio audience. Once he got his break, he made the most of his opportunities and spent 25 years with the Cardinals, one year with the Athletics in Oakland, 11 years with the South side Sox of Chicago, and finally finished off his career by letting Cubs fans fall in love with his unique style and mannerisms from 1981 to 1988.
In the prime of Caray's cookyness he was with the Chicago Cubs. He reportedly couldn't pronounce the name of their pitcher Jason Isringhousen and constantly combined the names of Ryan Sandberg, Jim Sundberg, and Scott Sanderson in every imaginable way but the correct one. Why did people love him so much? The man had a job in broadcasting for over 50 years with four different teams, and was tenured over 10 years with two of those squads.
Harry Caray was a people person, plain and simple. Caray was the clumsy, goofy fool of the friend-group that everyone expected to be there unless he somehow lit himself on fire and fell down the stairs to his death. Despite his constant mistakes and cardinal sins of broadcasting, he formed a friendship of sorts with the fan bases he entertained over all those years. Of course he was the friend who everyone was slightly embarrassed to say they knew, but he was still a friend no matter what. He did good work when it came to being a reporter, he wrote his own scripts, conducted his own interviews, and did most of his own research as well. When it came time for him to come on air he just went out there and had a good time, which when you think about it is what baseball and sport in general is all about.
People don't want to listen to a game on the air to be bored to death, they want to be entertained and informed. With Caray behind the mic, they would certainly be entertained, and obviously he had just enough of the ability to inform folks that they accepted him for the name mispronouncing alcoholic that he was.
Another thing that made Caray so darn lovable was his style of delivery for big calls in a game. There were four things in almost every Caray broadcast that everyone could expect to hear, one of them was guaranteed.
First was repetition. Caray would repeat big calls to the point that nobody tuning into the broadcast or barely paying attention to the radio would fail to hear him. Although at times this would be slightly overboard, the way Caray lived his broadcasting life, people started to relish in it and mock him in a way that it became a form of entertainment.
The second thing you could expect to hear was Holy Cow... Holy cow was used for everything from a defensive play to a home run. It was the go to for Caray, and honestly, he just used it so he didn't say holy shit on the radio or television. Although simple, people fell in love with it and Caray knew just how to say it for people to look forward to one of those clutch plays.
Third was his epic home run call, which again, he admittedly used because he once called a ball a home run when it wasn't. In order to stop himself from doing it he simply waited till the last possible second to call a home run and quickly followed it with a "Holy Cow" of course...
The final thing which everyone was going to hear when they listened to Harry Caray was him leading the singing of the Seventh Inning Stretch. This all started when one of his White Sox partners turned on the mic while he was singing it (per usual) and the fans actually grew to love it.
Whatever he did, people eventually mocked, and fell in love with. Caray was a quirky man with a speech impediment, but he was a people person. He knew how to work a crowd and call a baseball game. The rest of his errors he solved with being someone that people wanted to be around. Harry Caray defied all logic when it came to tenuring a sportscaster, but that is precisely the reason I am writing about him today.
Harry Caray as he is better known got away with a lot of things a normal sportscaster would never make a 50+ year career out of if they did the same things he did. Harry Caray was a highly sought after voice in the world of baseball, however, from the mid-1950's all the way till the late 80's during his most memorable and antic-filled times with the North side Chicago Cubs. Things started for Caray back in St. Louis in 1945 when he got his break due to his ability to sell Anheuser-Busch beer to the radio audience. Once he got his break, he made the most of his opportunities and spent 25 years with the Cardinals, one year with the Athletics in Oakland, 11 years with the South side Sox of Chicago, and finally finished off his career by letting Cubs fans fall in love with his unique style and mannerisms from 1981 to 1988.
In the prime of Caray's cookyness he was with the Chicago Cubs. He reportedly couldn't pronounce the name of their pitcher Jason Isringhousen and constantly combined the names of Ryan Sandberg, Jim Sundberg, and Scott Sanderson in every imaginable way but the correct one. Why did people love him so much? The man had a job in broadcasting for over 50 years with four different teams, and was tenured over 10 years with two of those squads.
Harry Caray was a people person, plain and simple. Caray was the clumsy, goofy fool of the friend-group that everyone expected to be there unless he somehow lit himself on fire and fell down the stairs to his death. Despite his constant mistakes and cardinal sins of broadcasting, he formed a friendship of sorts with the fan bases he entertained over all those years. Of course he was the friend who everyone was slightly embarrassed to say they knew, but he was still a friend no matter what. He did good work when it came to being a reporter, he wrote his own scripts, conducted his own interviews, and did most of his own research as well. When it came time for him to come on air he just went out there and had a good time, which when you think about it is what baseball and sport in general is all about.
People don't want to listen to a game on the air to be bored to death, they want to be entertained and informed. With Caray behind the mic, they would certainly be entertained, and obviously he had just enough of the ability to inform folks that they accepted him for the name mispronouncing alcoholic that he was.
Another thing that made Caray so darn lovable was his style of delivery for big calls in a game. There were four things in almost every Caray broadcast that everyone could expect to hear, one of them was guaranteed.
First was repetition. Caray would repeat big calls to the point that nobody tuning into the broadcast or barely paying attention to the radio would fail to hear him. Although at times this would be slightly overboard, the way Caray lived his broadcasting life, people started to relish in it and mock him in a way that it became a form of entertainment.
The second thing you could expect to hear was Holy Cow... Holy cow was used for everything from a defensive play to a home run. It was the go to for Caray, and honestly, he just used it so he didn't say holy shit on the radio or television. Although simple, people fell in love with it and Caray knew just how to say it for people to look forward to one of those clutch plays.
Third was his epic home run call, which again, he admittedly used because he once called a ball a home run when it wasn't. In order to stop himself from doing it he simply waited till the last possible second to call a home run and quickly followed it with a "Holy Cow" of course...
The final thing which everyone was going to hear when they listened to Harry Caray was him leading the singing of the Seventh Inning Stretch. This all started when one of his White Sox partners turned on the mic while he was singing it (per usual) and the fans actually grew to love it.
Whatever he did, people eventually mocked, and fell in love with. Caray was a quirky man with a speech impediment, but he was a people person. He knew how to work a crowd and call a baseball game. The rest of his errors he solved with being someone that people wanted to be around. Harry Caray defied all logic when it came to tenuring a sportscaster, but that is precisely the reason I am writing about him today.
Sunday, November 10, 2013
"YES!!!" - A Blog About Marv Albert
Marv Albert has been the voice of countless NBA over the course of his career. He has done work with college football, NFL football, NHL hockey, and Wimbledon tennis as well during his time announcing but has certainly made his name, and his money broadcasting all the action from the hardwood. Despite a less than impressive criminal record filled with scandal, he remains one of the most sought after voices in all of broadcasting and has become the voice that viewers look forward to hearing when they turn on a basketball game on TNT. He made his name broadcasting for the Knicks in the 1960's after taking over for Marty Glickman and his stock instantly rose from there. Even after his sexual assault charge AND getting let go from the Knicks organization for overly-criticizing their poor play, he was still a hot commodity and was hired by the YES! network to do Nets games as well as by TNT to do their league wide coverage of NBA games (now viewable on Tuesdays and Thursdays).
Albert's voice has been associated with some of the most magical moments in NBA regular season, playoff, and Finals history since he has been calling games through generations of superstars keeping his winning formula the entire way through even as basketball has changed dramatically.
If you watched the videos on the links above, you can realize why Albert has had the ability to stay consistent with his delivery method, and how he discusses the game of basketball unfolding before him. He has sayings which are completely and totally timeless. Marv Albert keeps fans listening as their favorite player drives to the basket or steps back to take that big jump shot by keeping a slight questioning tone while a shot is developing. He has been answering his own question for the past 50+ years with one of the simplest, yet most memorable statements you will ever hear while listening to a broadcast, "YES!!" Also, as we know, dunking has become a major method of scoring points in the NBA, and despite how it has happened thousands of times, everyone still gets excited when someone dunks on another team's defender. Albert has found the perfect way to feed into the fans' excitement with his catch-phrase "SERVING UP THE FACIAL." Catch-phrases like Albert's have withstood the test of time, and have actually become more relevant to viewers. Slang is a common thing in basketball jargon and Albert, a now 72 year old man, still has the ability to influence the NBA's young fan-base with the hip, and timeless saying.
Along with Albert's ability to keep games interesting via his historical sayings, his iconic voice is something networks have been searching for since his beginnings back in Madison Square Garden. Despite the baggage that he comes with, he is comparable to Terrell Owens or Chad Ochocinco in their prime, the good outweighs the potential bad media that they come with. For now, TNT is happy to have Marv Albert doing their games and improving their ratings. Although his career may be coming to an end due to his age shortly, one thing is for sure, he has certainly made an impression on the sports broadcasting world in a positive sense.
Albert's voice has been associated with some of the most magical moments in NBA regular season, playoff, and Finals history since he has been calling games through generations of superstars keeping his winning formula the entire way through even as basketball has changed dramatically.
If you watched the videos on the links above, you can realize why Albert has had the ability to stay consistent with his delivery method, and how he discusses the game of basketball unfolding before him. He has sayings which are completely and totally timeless. Marv Albert keeps fans listening as their favorite player drives to the basket or steps back to take that big jump shot by keeping a slight questioning tone while a shot is developing. He has been answering his own question for the past 50+ years with one of the simplest, yet most memorable statements you will ever hear while listening to a broadcast, "YES!!" Also, as we know, dunking has become a major method of scoring points in the NBA, and despite how it has happened thousands of times, everyone still gets excited when someone dunks on another team's defender. Albert has found the perfect way to feed into the fans' excitement with his catch-phrase "SERVING UP THE FACIAL." Catch-phrases like Albert's have withstood the test of time, and have actually become more relevant to viewers. Slang is a common thing in basketball jargon and Albert, a now 72 year old man, still has the ability to influence the NBA's young fan-base with the hip, and timeless saying.
Along with Albert's ability to keep games interesting via his historical sayings, his iconic voice is something networks have been searching for since his beginnings back in Madison Square Garden. Despite the baggage that he comes with, he is comparable to Terrell Owens or Chad Ochocinco in their prime, the good outweighs the potential bad media that they come with. For now, TNT is happy to have Marv Albert doing their games and improving their ratings. Although his career may be coming to an end due to his age shortly, one thing is for sure, he has certainly made an impression on the sports broadcasting world in a positive sense.
Thursday, November 7, 2013
Stanford vs. Oregon on ESPN
On November 7th, anyone who considered themselves a college football fan had their eyes glued to their TV screen as #5 Stanford Cardinal hosted the #3 Oregon Ducks. ESPN was lucky enough to have coverage of the game so I decided it would be a good idea to check out how they covered arguably the biggest game of this college football season so far.
The broadcasters for the evening were the usual Thursday night men: Rece Davis, Jesse Palmer, and David Pollack. You could tell they had done their homework on both the squads playing that evening. ESPN has always been known to sports fans as the ultimate source for any storyline, information, or statistic, especially when it comes to big time teams which they chose to air on their networks. All three sportscasters were equipped with every tool they needed to make the broadcast as interesting as possible. Statistics, graphics, and quality player analysis had the viewers listening between every play to learn all they could about each team. Now having all of the tools which ESPN provided each telecaster is very valuable for those, but only if they know how to use it. Palmer and Pollack were always ready after each play with quality information and background on each player which they used as the game went on to develop the story into some sort of soap opera. The plot was the actions on the field, the characters were the players, and the tensions built by each member of the broadcast team came from their stories about this same game last year between the Cardinal and the Ducks. Even early in the first quarter, tensions were built as announcers questioned if Heisman Trophy candidate Marcus Mariota was suddenly in question about his nerves before this game. The last team he had thrown an interception against in fact was Stanford.
As the game moved from the 1st quarter, the background information on players faded, the broadcasters had set up the story successfully in the first quarter and it was time to move on to the new story which was already unfolding starting in the 2nd. As Stanford put up their second touchdown of the evening, right after QB Kevin Hogan almost tossed one up for an interception. Great commentary from the squad discussed how Hogan averaged "five bad plays per game" saying he could not have five bad plays against Oregon. The very next play (after his interception was nullified via defensive pass interference) Hogan took one in for a touchdown on a zone read option play similar to something we would expect from Oregon. The analysts quickly responded with "What bad play? All I see is a good play right there!" Even when Oregon was suddenly down by 2 scores, the announcers did a good job keeping things intriguing for fans watching at home, reminding everyone that although the Ducks have been slow starters before and letting everyone know how 14 points is nothing to this Duck offense.
Things eventually got out of hand, and the statistics started favoring the Cardinal.
ESPN does a good job at making their games interesting and informative by giving their broadcasters all the technical tools to do a good job. It takes a special trained crew, such as Davis, Palmer, and Pollack to make the magic happen however. Watching ESPN was never anything I thought twice about, but the way their broadcasters use the technology they are given, makes it the number one sports source to the world.
The broadcasters for the evening were the usual Thursday night men: Rece Davis, Jesse Palmer, and David Pollack. You could tell they had done their homework on both the squads playing that evening. ESPN has always been known to sports fans as the ultimate source for any storyline, information, or statistic, especially when it comes to big time teams which they chose to air on their networks. All three sportscasters were equipped with every tool they needed to make the broadcast as interesting as possible. Statistics, graphics, and quality player analysis had the viewers listening between every play to learn all they could about each team. Now having all of the tools which ESPN provided each telecaster is very valuable for those, but only if they know how to use it. Palmer and Pollack were always ready after each play with quality information and background on each player which they used as the game went on to develop the story into some sort of soap opera. The plot was the actions on the field, the characters were the players, and the tensions built by each member of the broadcast team came from their stories about this same game last year between the Cardinal and the Ducks. Even early in the first quarter, tensions were built as announcers questioned if Heisman Trophy candidate Marcus Mariota was suddenly in question about his nerves before this game. The last team he had thrown an interception against in fact was Stanford.
As the game moved from the 1st quarter, the background information on players faded, the broadcasters had set up the story successfully in the first quarter and it was time to move on to the new story which was already unfolding starting in the 2nd. As Stanford put up their second touchdown of the evening, right after QB Kevin Hogan almost tossed one up for an interception. Great commentary from the squad discussed how Hogan averaged "five bad plays per game" saying he could not have five bad plays against Oregon. The very next play (after his interception was nullified via defensive pass interference) Hogan took one in for a touchdown on a zone read option play similar to something we would expect from Oregon. The analysts quickly responded with "What bad play? All I see is a good play right there!" Even when Oregon was suddenly down by 2 scores, the announcers did a good job keeping things intriguing for fans watching at home, reminding everyone that although the Ducks have been slow starters before and letting everyone know how 14 points is nothing to this Duck offense.
Things eventually got out of hand, and the statistics started favoring the Cardinal.
ESPN does a good job at making their games interesting and informative by giving their broadcasters all the technical tools to do a good job. It takes a special trained crew, such as Davis, Palmer, and Pollack to make the magic happen however. Watching ESPN was never anything I thought twice about, but the way their broadcasters use the technology they are given, makes it the number one sports source to the world.
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Jim Nantz - The Voice
Jim Nantz has been with CBS sports longer than I have been alive. He is a staple in the network's athletic coverage of PGA golf, NCAA basketball, and NFL football since 1985 and has done an outstanding job at doing so. Nantz has worked his way up in CBS's hierarchy since he started, so much in fact, that it is hard to turn on a CBS sports broadcast and not hear the iconic voice of the 28 year tenured broadcaster.
Nantz has covered countless memorable events in his time with CBS:
Nantz has covered countless memorable events in his time with CBS:
- NCAA March Madness tournament games (including every Final Four game)
- Super Bowl XLI, Super Bowl XLIV, and Super Bowl XLVII
- Head host of The Masters, and The PGA Championship for CBS since 1989
After watching multiple events which Nantz has covered, it is very evident as to why CBS wants him to cover and host so many of their athletic events. The voice of Jim Nantz is one of the most enjoyable voices to listen to in all of sports, past and present. He has it all in terms of vocality, he can illustrate a round of golf with an uncanny ability to speak both with passion and reverence in a single breath. The next time you watch golf on CBS, take notice of how Nantz changes his tone drastically in a sport which many find dull. Prior to the player's shot, he will speak in a manner which many could assimilate with the whispers of the crowd gathered around said golfer as they are asked to be quiet. Once the shot is struck, Nantz has an uncanny ability to bring his voice to an immediate tone filled with anticipation, almost guiding the ball through the air just as a golfer would to themselves while watching the flight path. As the ball lands and rolls he knows once again, how to evaluate the shot based on its landing and roll. He does not go overboard when a shot goes into the water or the bunker as it is seen rude to lose your composure in the game of golf. If the shot is a gem, however, Nantz can turn on the jubilance in a heartbeat filling an audience's ears with the raw excitement in the air following an outstanding shot.
Nantz also can keep up with the constant excitement of NCAA March Madness, and does so without losing the iconic voice which he possesses. College basketball is a high tempo game which is constantly played with a sense of urgency unlike any other level of basketball. When it is win or go home for teams, the intensity raises up tenfold. Nantz has the ability to bring some organization to the "madness" of March, but can still keep up with the heart and hustle of the young men playing to solidify their place in history. Even when games come down to the wire, Nantz has the ability to use his vocality and bring fans to their senses as they sit anxiously clinging to their seats with their eyes on the television. He turns it up while the action is happening while still keeping his cool and getting the details down, when the inevitable timeouts or dead balls occur, he is there with the details and knows what to discuss with his color man letting everyone at home know what to expect and what situation each team is facing.
Jim Nantz has the work ethic, memory, and personality to be a solid sportscaster. It is his voice, which he has full control of at all times, however, that makes him a great sportscaster. CBS realized his potential when he was working in Salt Lake City, Utah way back in the mid 1980's. They knew they had found a kid with plenty of experience and a solid voice back then, what CBS may not have realized was that they found a legend.
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Do You Believe in Miracles? - Al Michaels Does
Al Michaels is responsible for some of the most memorable calls in sports history. He has announced for the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, college football, college basketball, as well as the Olympic Games. During that time, he has witnessed and relayed many of sport’s most amazing plays on the biggest stages imaginable.
- Michaels was covering the UCLA Bruins basketball team when they went on their infamous 88 game winning streak
- Michaels did the famous 1989 World Series game that got interrupted by an earthquake at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.
- Michaels broadcast countless spectacular plays on Monday Night Football, including Antonio Freeman’s 43 yard touchdown reception from Brett Favre allowing the Green Bay Packers to defeat the Minnesota Vikings in overtime.
- Arguably the most famous call in Olympic history was made by Al Michaels as he asked the world if they believed in miracles when the United States beat Soviet Russia in the 1980 Winter Olympics.
Michaels’ career took a little while to get going, as he got his first job on air in 1964. He was hired then quickly let go by the Los Angeles Lakers as a color commentator after only four games. He continued attempting to find jobs and finally found his niche in baseball, football, and hockey. Although Michaels eventually did develop his skills in basketball play-by-play he has made his most memorable calls while doing baseball, football, and Olympic winter sports.
The thing that helped Michaels develop his career as a sportscaster was finding his passion. In order for a broadcaster to become as wildly successful as Al Michaels has become, they need to have more passion for the game they are watching than even the biggest fan of the team which is playing. Michaels was willing to move around the country throughout his life working in Ohio, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Hawaii. Once network talent saw the passion Michaels put into each of his broadcasts he was hired by ABC.
While with ABC Michaels was still able to travel around the country doing Monday Night Baseball for the American Broadcasting Company in 1977. He also covered college football, college basketball, hockey, and many Olympic events during his tenure. One of those Olympic events just so happened to be the “Miracle on Ice.”
Michaels was only chosen to do the game because he had done one hockey game eight years prior to the 1980 games. All the other members of ABC’s broadcast team had never done a hockey game before, so Michaels was granted the privilege of covering the most magical hockey game in United States history. The Miracle on Ice is what catapulted Michaels into the spotlight of the world in 1980 helping him to become a household name around the nation and even the world. The last minute of the broadcast as the United States clung to a 4-3 lead over the Soviet Union could arguably be the best call of all time. Michaels used his passion to bring the noise and excitement at Lake Placid to every viewer at home who was locked to their television. Although he was almost yelling due to the noise of the arena, he kept a very solid tone which was understandable but brought a sense of urgency as the USA was barely able to get the puck away from their own goal. The Soviet Union continued checking the under-sized US players into the walls fighting for their Olympic lives. Michaels was able to keep his composure, calling who had the puck while simultaneously counting down with the audience. The excitement in his voice is brilliant enough to send a chill down the listeners spine, even to this day 33 years later.
As many movie-goers have seen in the movie “Miracle,” Michaels counted down from 10 seconds left to 5 before he shouted “DO YOU BELIEVE IN MIRACLES?!” as the players and fans erupted in complete pandemonium. The passion in Michaels’ voice completely captured the emotions of every American in Lake Placid. More importantly, the silence from the booth to follow the end of the game allowed viewers to take in the event which just happened unabridged.
Michaels’ passion and dedication for his craft is what has set him apart, and put him on top of the sportscasting world. He found his niche, made the most of his opportunities, and put his passion for athletics into his voice for those who have been fortunate enough to listen to him.
Friday, October 4, 2013
The Voice of Summer: Vin Scully
Name one person you can think of in the sport of baseball who is responsible for more monumental occurrences in his career.
The legend who I have on my mind is responsible for:
Vin Scully is known by any self respecting Major League Baseball fan as "The voice of the Los Angeles Dodgers." To those hundreds of thousands of lucky listeners who consider themselves Dodger fans, they simply refer to him as "The voice of summer." That's right, this man is so well respected (and rightfully so) that he has a season embedded in his nickname.
So how did this icon get to be where he is? What has made him "the voice of summer?" How can one man who went to Fordham University become the voice that defines a team, multiple generations, and even a sport? Clearly he is a hard worker, but there are plenty of sportscasters out there who are up before the sun rises crunching numbers and doing all they can to be the most knowledgable, fact filled human stat machine they can be. Vin Scully has not been giving the play by play of baseball games for the past 64 years of his life, however. Vin Scully has been telling stories.
Scully knows there is an art to doing baseball games on the radio as well as on television, an art he has perfected. There is plenty of down-time in a baseball game with the average nine inning bout lasting over two hours and fifty minutes. In that time, there have been studies that suggest there is only 18 minutes of real action in a game. That leaves over 2.5 hours for Scully to tell his story of each day's game. He has no issue at all finding something to share with all his listeners whether it be an interesting statistic, a story about a player's off-field life, what is happening in the ball park or a fun fact about any player or team being featured at the moment.
If you listen to a Scully broadcast it is easy to get lost in the words coming out of his mouth, but at the same time, you know exactly what is going on in the game. Hearing a vivid description of what is on the field gets boring and repetitive, especially after 60-plus years. Scully throws in quick, insightful, and useful play by play comments to help people envision what is going on between pitches, but at the same time he gives a full narrative of whatever may be on his mind that day. The 84 year old has plenty of memories and has likely seen more games of baseball than any other human in history. He knows what people care about and what they find to be useless information. He finds the juicy little tidbits of information that everyone loves to use when they talk sports with their acquaintances.
Most importantly, he has no script as to how a baseball game needs to go. Each game is completely unique when you look closely at the sport and all of its endless intricacies and Scully knows this better than anyone. He has no recipe to determine how his broadcasts must go. There were two particular 9th inning segments which stood out to me that prove this point clearly.
In the 1965 perfect game thrown by Sandy Koufax, Scully made sure everyone knew how historical of an evening September 5th was. As he guided the audience through what was of course a 1-2-3 inning in which Koufax struck out all three batters he mentioned the time of day before several of his pitches. This is not something which is usually done, but neither is a perfect game. Scully couldn't just be calling that game the same way as he would call a shootout or even the end of a game which was 2-1. He really stuck to the details of what the pitcher and the three batters he faced were going through. Each defensive player who had been a part of the fateful evening was introduced to give them their fair amount of credit despite Koufax taking care of a perfect game record 14 batters via strikeout that evening. Listeners knew exactly how manager Walter Alston was playing his defense before each pitch and even what each batter would do as they stepped out of the box between pitches. This is not stereotypical of Scully, but he needed to make sure everyone knew the difference between this game and one of lesser importance. Details which are sometimes useless and silly were suddenly exactly what radio followers were listening for as they sat on the edge of their seats praying for perfection.
Years pass from 1965, and Scully is now calling a Dodgers-Yankees game at Dodger Stadium on July 31st 2013, a game in which legendary pitcher Mariano Rivera would be making his last appearance to the city of Los Angeles. This time, the Dodgers found themselves trailing 3-0 in what had been a "frustrating game" for both fans and players. Never being a sportscaster who favored the home team while making his calls, Scully considered it a win that he and Dodger nation were down three so they could have a chance to see Rivera one more time. The inning was an impressive one for the last man to wear the 42 jersey as he struck out two and got a roll-over ground ball to the 2nd baseman to retire the side 1-2-3, but that was nothing out of the ordinary for Rivera. What was out of the ordinary that evening was the fact that Dodger fans would never see him dominate their team again after he had been doing so like clockwork for the past 19 seasons. Scully barely spoke of baseball that evening in the bottom of the 9th inning. He never mentioned a comeback, never spoke of how the Dodgers could win or tie the game up at all. He told us about how magical of a man Mariano Rivera was both on the field and off. Listeners could tell who was batting and what the count was most of the time, but that was about it. Scully told stories of Rivera's outlandish career numbers, what other baseball clubs had done to honor him as he visited each ballpark for the last time around the league, what the Yankees had been doing for him, and all of his off-field adventures which somehow made him out to be an even more phenomenal human being than most already thought he was. It was an inning dedicated to the opposing teams relief pitcher and it was perfectly done. After a 6 minute half-inning of story telling, Scully finished up the game effortlessly while telling his listeners of Rivera's good deeds off the diamond. A.J. Ellis was up to bat and grounded out to 2nd on the third pitch of the at-bat to end things for the hopeless Dodgers that evening.
"Mariano Rivera is such a worth-while human being. He's made a lot of money in baseball, but he's given it back... that's a strike... he built a church in his small town in Panama. He built a church in New Rochelle, New York, his wife, Clara, is going to be the pastor. He also spent 3 million dollars to buy an old church in New York, he's going to refurnish and bring that to life... aaand he takes the life right out of the Dodgers, getting two strike-outs and a routine ground ball."
During this game, what was happening on the diamond took a back seat to what had happened in the life of the iconic Yankee. Scully told everyone all about how wonderful of a person he was and how talented of an athlete he had been. While doing this, he continued to keep listeners updated in the game which was all but over in order to keep everyone happy. Scully never really started bandwagoning for Rivera in his half inning dedication, he simply told people facts about his life which were certainly worthy of all the credit in the world. Letting fans know all of the most important stories about Rivera they might not have heard throughout his 19 year career since there would never be an option to do so again.
Scully was (and is) a master of a fine art. His ability to illustrate a baseball game is effortless and has been voted as the standard of perfection in Curt Smith's book, Voices of Summer. He has been doing his job like every man should for the past 65 years, working his hardest each day to perform to the best of his abilities. Still today, at 84 years of age, while the Dodgers are in the playoffs and everyone has the ability to watch them in HDTV, young players turn on the radio to listen to the legend. Minnesota Twin's 3rd baseman Trevor Plouffe is a prime example. On October 3rd while the Dodgers were playing the Braves in game one of the NLDS this tweet came out and finished this blog better than I ever could've. A shout out to Vin Scully, the greatest to ever do it.
The legend who I have on my mind is responsible for:
- Four consecutive home runs in 2006.
- 73 home runs in 2001.
- Five world series victories.
- Three perfect games occurring in 1956, 1965, and 1991
- 18 no-hitters
- Shutting out the 1955 Yankees in GAME 7 of the World Series
- Two record-breaking scoreless inning streaks of 58.2 and 59.0 innings in 1968 and 1988.
Vin Scully is known by any self respecting Major League Baseball fan as "The voice of the Los Angeles Dodgers." To those hundreds of thousands of lucky listeners who consider themselves Dodger fans, they simply refer to him as "The voice of summer." That's right, this man is so well respected (and rightfully so) that he has a season embedded in his nickname.
So how did this icon get to be where he is? What has made him "the voice of summer?" How can one man who went to Fordham University become the voice that defines a team, multiple generations, and even a sport? Clearly he is a hard worker, but there are plenty of sportscasters out there who are up before the sun rises crunching numbers and doing all they can to be the most knowledgable, fact filled human stat machine they can be. Vin Scully has not been giving the play by play of baseball games for the past 64 years of his life, however. Vin Scully has been telling stories.
Scully knows there is an art to doing baseball games on the radio as well as on television, an art he has perfected. There is plenty of down-time in a baseball game with the average nine inning bout lasting over two hours and fifty minutes. In that time, there have been studies that suggest there is only 18 minutes of real action in a game. That leaves over 2.5 hours for Scully to tell his story of each day's game. He has no issue at all finding something to share with all his listeners whether it be an interesting statistic, a story about a player's off-field life, what is happening in the ball park or a fun fact about any player or team being featured at the moment.
If you listen to a Scully broadcast it is easy to get lost in the words coming out of his mouth, but at the same time, you know exactly what is going on in the game. Hearing a vivid description of what is on the field gets boring and repetitive, especially after 60-plus years. Scully throws in quick, insightful, and useful play by play comments to help people envision what is going on between pitches, but at the same time he gives a full narrative of whatever may be on his mind that day. The 84 year old has plenty of memories and has likely seen more games of baseball than any other human in history. He knows what people care about and what they find to be useless information. He finds the juicy little tidbits of information that everyone loves to use when they talk sports with their acquaintances.
Most importantly, he has no script as to how a baseball game needs to go. Each game is completely unique when you look closely at the sport and all of its endless intricacies and Scully knows this better than anyone. He has no recipe to determine how his broadcasts must go. There were two particular 9th inning segments which stood out to me that prove this point clearly.
In the 1965 perfect game thrown by Sandy Koufax, Scully made sure everyone knew how historical of an evening September 5th was. As he guided the audience through what was of course a 1-2-3 inning in which Koufax struck out all three batters he mentioned the time of day before several of his pitches. This is not something which is usually done, but neither is a perfect game. Scully couldn't just be calling that game the same way as he would call a shootout or even the end of a game which was 2-1. He really stuck to the details of what the pitcher and the three batters he faced were going through. Each defensive player who had been a part of the fateful evening was introduced to give them their fair amount of credit despite Koufax taking care of a perfect game record 14 batters via strikeout that evening. Listeners knew exactly how manager Walter Alston was playing his defense before each pitch and even what each batter would do as they stepped out of the box between pitches. This is not stereotypical of Scully, but he needed to make sure everyone knew the difference between this game and one of lesser importance. Details which are sometimes useless and silly were suddenly exactly what radio followers were listening for as they sat on the edge of their seats praying for perfection.
Years pass from 1965, and Scully is now calling a Dodgers-Yankees game at Dodger Stadium on July 31st 2013, a game in which legendary pitcher Mariano Rivera would be making his last appearance to the city of Los Angeles. This time, the Dodgers found themselves trailing 3-0 in what had been a "frustrating game" for both fans and players. Never being a sportscaster who favored the home team while making his calls, Scully considered it a win that he and Dodger nation were down three so they could have a chance to see Rivera one more time. The inning was an impressive one for the last man to wear the 42 jersey as he struck out two and got a roll-over ground ball to the 2nd baseman to retire the side 1-2-3, but that was nothing out of the ordinary for Rivera. What was out of the ordinary that evening was the fact that Dodger fans would never see him dominate their team again after he had been doing so like clockwork for the past 19 seasons. Scully barely spoke of baseball that evening in the bottom of the 9th inning. He never mentioned a comeback, never spoke of how the Dodgers could win or tie the game up at all. He told us about how magical of a man Mariano Rivera was both on the field and off. Listeners could tell who was batting and what the count was most of the time, but that was about it. Scully told stories of Rivera's outlandish career numbers, what other baseball clubs had done to honor him as he visited each ballpark for the last time around the league, what the Yankees had been doing for him, and all of his off-field adventures which somehow made him out to be an even more phenomenal human being than most already thought he was. It was an inning dedicated to the opposing teams relief pitcher and it was perfectly done. After a 6 minute half-inning of story telling, Scully finished up the game effortlessly while telling his listeners of Rivera's good deeds off the diamond. A.J. Ellis was up to bat and grounded out to 2nd on the third pitch of the at-bat to end things for the hopeless Dodgers that evening.
"Mariano Rivera is such a worth-while human being. He's made a lot of money in baseball, but he's given it back... that's a strike... he built a church in his small town in Panama. He built a church in New Rochelle, New York, his wife, Clara, is going to be the pastor. He also spent 3 million dollars to buy an old church in New York, he's going to refurnish and bring that to life... aaand he takes the life right out of the Dodgers, getting two strike-outs and a routine ground ball."
During this game, what was happening on the diamond took a back seat to what had happened in the life of the iconic Yankee. Scully told everyone all about how wonderful of a person he was and how talented of an athlete he had been. While doing this, he continued to keep listeners updated in the game which was all but over in order to keep everyone happy. Scully never really started bandwagoning for Rivera in his half inning dedication, he simply told people facts about his life which were certainly worthy of all the credit in the world. Letting fans know all of the most important stories about Rivera they might not have heard throughout his 19 year career since there would never be an option to do so again.
Scully was (and is) a master of a fine art. His ability to illustrate a baseball game is effortless and has been voted as the standard of perfection in Curt Smith's book, Voices of Summer. He has been doing his job like every man should for the past 65 years, working his hardest each day to perform to the best of his abilities. Still today, at 84 years of age, while the Dodgers are in the playoffs and everyone has the ability to watch them in HDTV, young players turn on the radio to listen to the legend. Minnesota Twin's 3rd baseman Trevor Plouffe is a prime example. On October 3rd while the Dodgers were playing the Braves in game one of the NLDS this tweet came out and finished this blog better than I ever could've. A shout out to Vin Scully, the greatest to ever do it.
Listening to Vin on the radio is better than watching the game live. He's the greatest to ever do it.
— Trevor Plouffe (@TPlouffe24) October 4, 2013
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)