Vin Scully recently said he will retire after next season. He's been in the Brooklyn/LA Dodgers' booth since 1950.
This is going to be perceived as unAmerican, but I'm not a Scully fan. Enberg is head and shoulders above, in my view, and let me offer a few nuggets to back it up.
Dick Enberg always worked with a color man, and he always succeeded in making that color man a better broadcaster. It led Enberg to the top spot over at NBC. He called several sports, including football, basketball, and tennis for CBS.
Vin Scully could have been CBS' number one NFL broadcaster. He was tested with the great John Madden, but there was no chemistry. Scully never gave Madden the room and opportunity to be Madden. Madden was then tested with Pat Summerall, and it clicked. Summerall's ego didn't get in the way. John Madden was quoted as saying Pat knew how to set him up. According to Madden, Summerall asked him questions he (Madden) knew Summerall could have answered on his own. Pat Summerall: team player. Vin Scully: not so much.
For the final years of the NBC baseball contract, Scully worked with Tom Seaver on Saturday afternoons. Tom Seaver, another guy who knows his stuff. Scully kept him on a short leash.
To this day, Scully works alone, even though fans prefer having a play by play and color man in the booth.
Vin Scully has been around a long time, and he does have legions of loyal followers. I respect that. However, his act never worked for me.
Dick Enberg, who was also an employee of the California Angels, knew how to turn off his "homer-ism" on national broadcasts. Scully didn't.
I'll miss one of the two. You can guess which one.
My Pittsburgh Steelers fandom went on hiatus after the team signed dog killer Michael Vick. Baseball could be next. Liar and illegal gambler Peter Rose met with the commissioner last week. It was his latest bid to get back in the game. I've already expressed my feelings here. No. Never. Rose committed the greatest sin of all. I know there's the whole forgiveness thing, and I get that. Perhaps I'd feel differently if Rose came clean when he got caught. Pete Rose only admitted to his crimes decades later, when he had a book to sell. If Rose gets in, I'm out.
Before I hit "enter" for the day, a few words on the passing of Yankee great Yogi Berra. What a great life he led! Universally loved, financially secure, well regarded, a long life... We should all be so lucky.
