It's Time for Dodger Baseball

 It was a time, and like most kids during that time we would spend as much of our after-school hours outside riding bikes over at the high school, up and down the neighborhood streets, in one of the goat head infested dirt fields or playing, after rounding up as many other kids as were available, football, baseball or basketball depending on the season. When they were on the television we'd have the Dodgers on, though we would rarely tune in when radio was the only option, except...

if a game was still being played past bedtime. Then the little transistor radio with the single ear piece would tune in to KFI or KABC, and bring Vin Scully's play-by-play to the quiet of the night. I'm not going to say I didn't fall asleep sometimes, but more often then not I would listen for the crack of a bat and hear Vin announce another hit by Manny Mota, another stolen base by Davy Lopes, another strikeout by Andy Messersmith or Don Sutton until the last call of the game. Vin's voice was not the only one I might hear - Jerry Doggett, and then Ross Porter were there too, and good in their own right, but there was extra incentive to stay awake when it was Vin. Now the grandparents, on the other hand, were some true Dodger fans - I'm not sure they ever missed a game - and if the game was being shown on TV but Vin was not announcing, you can bet they would have the sound turned off and the radio on, just to hear Vin's take on the proceedings.

Vin Scully was one of a kind, and at the top of the broadcasting game for such a long time, and though we may not have known him personally, I think many of us are thankful that he could bring his special talent to our lives for all that time. Now if you'll excuse me...

"It's time for Dodger baseball!"