Q&A; WITH VIN SCULLY : ‘I Want People to Believe Me’

The heroes who bleed blue change names and numbers almost every year. But from Koufax to Karros, Drysdale to DeShields, Garvey to Gibson, Vin Scully, 66, has called them all.

Today, opening day, Scully, one of the last links to Brooklyn and the Boys of Summer, will begin his 45th year as Dodger broadcaster. He took over from one legend, Red Barber, and soon became another. He’s covered three perfect games, including Don Larsen’s 1956 World Series masterpiece, and 15 no-hitters, and has been named the nation’s outstanding sportscaster four times. In 1982, he was elected to the broadcast wing of baseball’s Hall of Fame.

But the last year has been a tortuous one for Scully. First, he lost two friends, all-time Dodger greats Roy Campanella and Don Drysdale. Then, just three months ago, his son, Michael A. Scully, 33, was killed in a helicopter crash as he patrolled an oil pipeline checking for earthquake damage.

During this past weekend’s Freeway Series against the Angels, Scully, somehow as animated as always, focused on the game he adores, and the eternal hopes of the season ahead.

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Question: Is the booth therapy for you?

Answer: Oh, absolutely. There’s not much else I can do about what’s happened in my life, and so work helps a great deal. It’s so personal, so close to your heart and your soul that I don’t think very many people would like to talk about it. I would say I’m fortunate that I have my faith, and it’s extremely important to me at all times, and never more so than when things are really difficult. I’m sure work is a solution for all of us. It’s about all we can do.

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Q: This was always your dream, wasn’t it?

A: Yes. I grew up in the streets of New York and did play-by-play, writing a little composition for the nuns when I was about 8 years old. So it’s been a part of my life forever. I’ve thought many times how lucky I could have possibly been to wind up here. When I was inducted into the media section of the Hall of Fame, I remember my speech was from the heart, and my whole thought was, “Why me? Why was I so lucky to get what I dreamed?” I don’t know the answer. All I know is how grateful I am.

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Q: What first drew you to radio?

A: The original sounds for me were college football. We had this big old radio, and I would crawl underneath it, and the speakers would be directly over my head. Something would happen, and the announcer would get excited. The crowd would roar, the sound would come out of that speaker like water out of a shower head, and it seemed to wash down on me, and I would get so excited and full of goose bumps, that I used to imagine being there and then I’d take it another step and imagine being the broadcaster.

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Q: What’s so special about baseball?

A: You don’t lose sight of anybody. In football, the running back gets the ball and the next thing you know, there are 12 guys piled up and somewhere in there is your man. And there’s symmetry and grace to baseball. The pace is relaxed, but it kind of builds. That’s why I don’t come on screaming and hollering to start a game. I say, “Hi,” and hopefully, it builds and builds, and by the time you get to the last inning or two, the place is going wild. Another thing is that almost everyone has played some form of baseball. Put it all together, and it’s love.

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Q: What’s the difference between calling a game on TV and radio?

A: Basically, you don’t talk as much on television as you do on radio. The best way to describe it is that on radio, the announcer can go in with a bucket of paint and a whole lot of brushes and an empty canvas, and he starts drawing thin lines and wide strokes, mixing colors, and at the end of three hours, he walks off and says, “That’s the best I can do.” In television, the picture’s already there, so now he’s trying to add footnotes, so there’s a very big difference. It’s a little more satisfying to have broadcast a very good game on radio because the challenge is greater.

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Q: Is the challenge greater if the Dodgers are playing poorly?

A: Oh, absolutely. Two years ago, the Dodgers lost 99 games. That was a difficult year. And going back to 1967, 1968, 1969, they were really hard years. But I’ve been so fortunate all these years. The Dodgers have been a good winning franchise for almost every year I’ve been here, so that’s made my job a lot easier. Anybody doing a poor team all year long is really working hard. The games get out of control relatively early, and it’s hard to keep honest enthusiasm. You have to scratch and find anecdotes.

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Q: What could you do to be better?

A: I wish that I could come up with better descriptive phrases immediately. I wish my brain was sharper. I wish I could remember every line of poetry I ever read, and be able to call it to mind during some moment on a play. And I don’t mean to impress people; I just mean the great writers have been able to string together great words to sum up great emotions, and how wonderful it would be if I could do that, too. But I can’t. But I do like to read, and I’m always trying to improve in that way. That’s the human being in all of us. You’ll never make it to where you have mastered it. No way.

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Q: What do you think of today’s announcers?

A: I’m not a big listener, and consequently, I’m probably less of a judge than anyone else. If I were doing the World Series, I would watch some of the playoffs because I was going to be involved with several of those teams. But just to tune in to watch or listen, I just don’t do that. Life is short enough, and the time that I do have, I like to spend it doing other things. It would be like asking an insurance man if he likes to read actuary tables. If I’m off, I’m playing golf. And if it’s raining, then I’m reading. I’m not watching a game.

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Q: How do you feel about announcers who cheer for their teams?

A: I think it’s great if that’s what the people want. But I try very hard to go down the middle. Once you start seeing things with your heart and not your eyes, you’re risking a lot of things. If you want a home run so badly, you’ll be like the fan. You’ll scream on a fly ball, and I was trained not to do that. I was afraid to root. I was afraid that I would lose all kinds of perspective. My judgment would become suspect. I want people to believe me. I can’t be a fan.

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Q: Yeah, but were you a fan when Kirk Gibson hit the home run?

A: My thought was, “He’s had such a great year, and he’s meant so much to the team, I just hope he doesn’t strike out.” With that mind-set, for him to then hit the home run, that was incredible. I have slotted that as the most theatrical home run I have ever seen. But I couldn’t look at it with my heart. Yet when it was over, I couldn’t sit down after the game. I was so caught up in the moment, the crowd roaring, the place going bananas. We went off the air, and I could not sit down.

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Q: How much longer will you broadcast the Dodgers?

A: I don’t know. I really don’t. Let’s put it this way. If I survive, I’ll keep doing it. As of right now, I feel great. This is a heck of a time to ask me that. I’m not thinking about quitting at all. If anything, let’s get it started.

* Vin Scully will broadcast the Dodgers’ opening game against the Florida Marlins at 1 p.m. today on KABC-AM (790).