Dodgers News: Watch Joe Davis' Touching In-Game Tribute to Vin Scully
Tuesday night, baseball fans around the world, especially Dodger fans, mourned the news that the legendary Vin Scully passed away.
This is when an ordinary Dodgers versus Giants game became a difficult night for Joe Davis, the Dodgers play-by-play announcer. Davis was given the tough job of replacing the legendary Scully after the 2016 season, and last night he handled all of it with grace and aplomb. It was an emotional night for Davis, too.
He allowed fans to feel the moment while also telling stories to remind us all how lucky we were to know Vin. It could not have been easy on multiple levels. Scully was also a friend to Davis, and Davis knows that Scully was essentially a member of everyone's family in the Dodger fandom. From the youngest generation who only got to see and hear Scully for a few years, to older generations who listened to Scully on a transistor radio, Davis had the unenviable job of practically eulogizing Scully live and on the fly.
Davis spoke to Jorge Castillo of the LA Times about the broadcast and what efforts went into it.
“You can kind of prepare mentally for it I guess, but anything like this, until it actually happens, you don’t really know what you’re going to say or how you’re going to say it. I just tried to do my best to pay tribute to the guy that I consider the greatest to ever do it. I said it on the air tonight and will say forever that there never will be another one like him. Greatest there ever has been, and greatest there ever will be.”
Davis told the story about the first time he ever spoke with Scully. The first time he called, Davis did not recognize the number and let it go to voicemail. (He's one of us.)
Davis will now have that voicemail forever.
There will never be another Vin Scully. After 67 years of calling games, nobody could fill his chair. Dodger fans and baseball fans, in general, are lucky to have Davis, though, because he did a wonderful job last night and he is the best "second best" option the world could ever have.
Rest in peace, Vinny.
