Scully vs. Sparky: That’s No Fair Fight

I love it when my 10-year-old son joins me in the TV room to watch a ballgame. When it’s the Dodgers, it’s pure joy. Vin Scully can call a game and wax poetic like no other. Can you imagine some crusty ex-ballplayer sitting in with Vin, making insidious small talk between pitches?

When I occasionally watch the Angels (usually for rotisserie reasons), my son is apt to hear something like: “If he makes pitches like that, I promise you, he better git ‘em out” or “That ball run away on him good.” Isn’t a strong command of the English language a prerequisite for broadcasting? “I gotta tell you, that kid can flat out run good” sends me scurrying for the mute button. Sparky, you knew how to manage the Big Red Machine, but you should spin your yarns and fumble your sentences with your grandkids, not over the airwaves.

JOHN LACY

Culver City