No region of the country has been luckier. Don't forget Dick Enberg (Rams, Angels, UCLA hoops) in that discussion.
Al Michaels started in LA. Did Laker games with Chick. Whatever you think about Keith Olberman, he's pretty good. Started at KTLA. Kings announcer is also pretty damn good.
I don't think I can really say or add anything better than any of you guys have already done so. It still hasn't hit me that he won't be back next year and it probably won't until the first game at Dodger Stadium next year with another person calling it. I'll always love the Dodgers, but I'm hoping this doesn't change things too much for me/us. For pretty much every one of us, Vinny is all we know. One of the best things to look forward to after a long roadtrip was that comfortable feeling you got with the boys playing at home and Vinny the one calling it. Without Vin I don't know if I would've became a Dodger fan. My dad grew up in Phoenix and they never had a team before, but they were able to get what are now out of market teams on the radio. He's told me the story multiple times about how he was driving to California one day and was flipping through the radio stations and then got to the station of Vin telling one of his stories. He was hooked right away and became a Dodger fan that day. Then I grew up with Shawn Green and Kevin Brown on our TV all the time and then I became hooked. I don't think I took Vin for granted, but these last few years it's been more difficult to actually sit down for an entire game on an everyday basis and take in his greatness. I just always thought he'd be coming back every year until he passed on which was selfish of me to think. My mom actually met him one day at the airport and said he was exactly like how he sounds and acts on TV. The true gentleman. I'm naming my first son after this man if I ever have a son.
i love dick enberg wish the nerds would steal him from the padres of course he's probably not that far from retirement himself not sure how many know/remember but he used to host a weekly show called sports challenge it would feature three members of a certain team vs. three from another in a sports quiz game i used to love it as a kid -- when there was no espn, internet, et al my mom worked for cbs for 35 years she said olbermann was one of the nicest people she ever encountered there would always hold doors open for people said he was funny as hell too
Dick Enberg is calling it quits this year. IDK if he is quitting at this time because he doesn't want the attention but whatever the reason I'm kid of sad the attention will almost all be on Vin deservedly so though.
My sentiments. It's all so beautiful. So heartwarming. Coming together so flawlessly. You can't script this stuff and I can't handle it.
Two scripts fit for Hollywood: Vin's last game at Dodger Stadium and Kobe's finale. And both in the same year. Crazy how they played out. Now we need a World Series win to finish this one.
There's not really much to add that hasn't been said. I share nearly every emotion expressed and word written in here. I don't remember the first Dodger game I watched on TV or listened to on the radio, but it's a safe bet Vin was the one announcing it. He was a legend before I even knew his name. I've been posting with most of you for nearly a decade, and I don't think anyone took him for granted. We feared this day way back then. He's been mentioned in every "Dodger greats" and "Dodgers Rushmore" conversation, and I can't think of anyone more universally liked and admired...period. It's hard to see him go, but like everyone else I feel blessed to have been able to experience a piece of this in my lifetime. We've watched plenty of games without him, so I know we will be ok. Just feeling truly blessed. And that last game at DS was beyond words. Corey Seager's HR... I seriously can't explain how special it was...
Wow what a great end to Vin's final home broadcast. The song made me bawl my eyes out because he reminded me of how precious to have someone in our lives. It was the hardest I've bawled since my wife passed
Only Vin could have pulled that off. For anyone else it would have been corny. Had a lump in my throat the size of a grapefruit.
Class and professionalism. Sure, he'll be remembered for his longevity, but it's those two characteristics that will define him as the best ever. While he's a Dodger fan for certain, he never let that bias affect the objectiveness of his broadcast. On the air, he was a fan of all ballplayers, and all people. And when you'd listen to his calling of the game, you knew you were getting a true, untainted accounting of what was transpiring. When I'm in my car here in the Bay Area listening to a couple of the Giants homer announcers, and they something like the ump is squeezing Bumgarner, I have no idea if that's actually the case, or if it's the Giant fan in them that wants to believe that's the case. With Vin, that was never an issue. And his class was second-to-none. Such a great role model to many. Yesterday was bittersweet. I share the same emotions all of you have so eloquently described here. I started listening to Dodger games in the late 70's. I was the kid he describes with the transistor tucked under my pillow because it was time for lights out. Still in the Bay Area, I could catch a feed out of Las Vegas, but it only started coming in at around 8:30. I would wait diligently every night, at first just catching a wisp of Vinny's voice trying to break through the static noise. By 9:00, it was pretty clear and I'd listen to the final innings, hanging on every word. Back then, this was the only way to know the outcome of the game, short of waiting for the newspaper the next morning. Still can recall those Farmer John commercials almost word-for-word. While I will miss him greatly, there's something so sweet and right about him retiring this way. How many people live this long, let alone work this late into their lives? Odds were that we would've lost him long ago. The fact that he was able to stick around and go out on his terms makes this so special. The final chapter to this storybook ending depends on how the next month plays out. Hopefully it's a very happy one.
I wasnt allowed to play sports till i was in Jr High. But i would still find my way to a stickball game in the street. And come home to listen to Vin on my transistor radio. In fact the only reason i wanted my own little TV was so i could watch the Dodgers and Vin. When my dad got a new 20 inch color TV his old 13 inch black and white became my most treasured possession. KTTV 11 was my favorite channel because thats where the Dodgers played and there was no remote on those types of TV's. So i just left it on 11 all the time.
Do you remember, KTTV used to have those really brief announcements telling the audience whether the Dodgers won or lost. It would just a screen shot of the Dodger logo and a blue background, and the announcer and the screen would just say "The Dodgers lose" or the "Dodgers win". I guess it was for those days when the Dodgers were away and/or had early games where people couldn't watch or listen cause they were at work. Anyway. Simpler times.
I don't remember that, but I remember home games were NEVER televised. They didn't want attendance to go down from people staying home to watch the game on TV. I usually couldn't wait for the next road trip so I could sit on the orange shag carpet in the living room and watch the game.
