CHICAGO – He may have been the primary broadcaster for one team in Major League Baseball, but his impact spread across every one of the clubs in the league during his near seven-decades in the broadcast booth.
Vin Scully’s death at the age of 94 on Tuesday evening has brought out a slew of tributes to the broadcaster who was the “Voice of the Dodgers” for 67 years during their time in both Brooklyn and Los Angeles.
That includes a few from Chicago’s MLB teams, the Cubs and White Sox, whose games Scully would call when facing the Dodgers or as part of a national broadcast.
“We join the baseball world in mourning the loss of Vin Scully, whose iconic voice and storytelling narrated games for generations of fans,” said the Cubs in a social media statement on Wednesday morning.
Along with that, Marquee Sports Network posted a video of Scully singing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” Wrigley Field on April 19, 1998. He was one of the first to take part in the tradition of having guests lead the crowd in the song during the seventh-inning stretch, which was instituted after the death of Harry Caray in February of 1998.
“RIP Vin Scully. Absolute legend/voice in the game!,” said Cubs starting pitcher Marcus Stroman on his Twitter account on Wednesday morning.
(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Before the White Sox game with the Royals on Wednesday at Guaranteed Rate Field, the team paid tribute to Scully with a moment of silence before the first pitch.
The team also released statements from four of their broadcasters on the legacy of Scully and what they meant to him.
“Losing Vin Scully is like having a million pages torn out of the world’s dictionary. He narrated the biggest moments with grace and beauty,” said television play-by-play announcer Jason Benetti.
“Vin Scully was the most humble human being you have ever been around,” said television color commentator Steve Stone in part of his statement.
“Vin was the greatest sports broadcaster who ever lived, but what always struck me was his generosity and grace off the air. He always made everyone around him feel good about life, and I never saw him in a bad mood at the ballpark,” said radio play-by-play announcer Len Kasper.
“As a young boy, I grew up listening to Vin Scully. He was the voice of the Dodgers and of summer in LA. Vin was extremely kind to me when I was a player and was even more generous and giving when I became a broadcaster,” said radio color commentator Darrin Jackson.