Smug and Flippant--Guess Who

He still works alone. No, the reference is not to Paladin, who was a man of culture and a hired gun who worked alone. The reference is to Vin Scully, who has announced Dodgers' games for more than fifty years. Mike Lupica, the New York Daily News columnist, wrote that Scully "has lost nothing off his fastball. He still works alone. He still doesn't get in the way. Maybe that's why he's still got the most famous baseball voice of them all."

With Vin Scully announcing a game on the radio, a fan can close his eyes and create a picture of what Scully describes. All the pertinent information is presented and it is as close to being at the game as possible. Scully does not exaggerate so that when he tells the fans that an outfielder made a great play, it is an accurate assessment. The WORST question a radio play by play announcer can create is "Do I believe him?"

Scully broadcast the 1988 World Series between the Dodgers and Oakland Athletics. With two outs and the Dodgers trailing 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth inning, Mike Davis drew a walk off Dennis Eckersley, who was considered the top relief pitcher in baseball at the time. Kirk Gibson, whose bad knee prevented him from starting, pinch hit for Dodgers' relief pitcher Alejandro Pena. The count went to 2-2. On the next delivery, which was ball three, Davis stole second. The following is Scully's play by play:

From Vin Scully: All year long they looked to him to light the fire and all year long he answered the demands.

High fly ball into right field. She is gone! [pause] In a year that has been so improbable, the impossible has happened.

Okay Yankees fans. Compare that to John Sterling. A popular newspaper columnist has written that John Sterling is a lost cause who is a narcissist using a microphone, a shill, and a self promoter. "Sterling's going to tell you what he feels like telling you. And the facts - the accuracy of his smug and self-smitten calls - become a matter of chance."

To John Sterling, John Sterling, not the game, is primary. It is virtually impossible to follow what is going on because Sterling and his "compadre," Charlie Steiner, who was a passable broadcaster before he joined Sterling, analyze and try to anticipate everything. The two of them, but primarily Sterling, present hypothetical events that may never occur instead of describing the action. The "now" is almost irrelevant to Sterling. What might happen and what has happened is his main concern and for the listener, it is just the opposite. The listener wants to know what IS happening as it happens and Sterling fails miserably.

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