1992 was a lousy year to start being a serious Dodgers fan. Coming off a heartbreaking end to the 1991 season that saw the Giants play spoilers and end the Dodgers’ run at the National League West title, the 1992 season started with high hopes. The off season had been spent signing Darryl Strawberry and Eric Davis to anchor the outfield, and with most of the 1991 team still there, the next season looked to be a solid run at a championship.
Instead, the wheels completely fell off. Star players got hurt, and the year ended with the Dodgers at the bottom of the division, with the sole highlight being Eric Karros winning the Rookie of the Year award. Somehow though, this is the year I remember as being the one where I really became a Dodgers fan.
Vin Scully was the the voice of my teenage years. Playing through the headphones on my Walkman radio while I did chores or studied. Blaring through the tiny speaker of a baseball shaped AM radio I’d gotten at a Dodger Stadium giveaway as I tried to find the local station for Dodger baseball while on family vacations. (And coming back into Dodger country from wherever we were visiting was always the sign that we were almost home.) Creating theatre of the mind through the radio of my truck, and keeping me company during solo shifts at my first job.
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| Not my personal radio, but just like this. |
Yesterday, Sunday, October 2nd, Vin called his last game, exactly 80 years to the day after he became a Giants fan at age 8 listening to them in the Bronx. He had this to say before the broadcast started:
“May God give you for every storm a rainbow, for every tear a smile, for every care a promise, and a blessing in each trial. For every problem life seems, a faithful friend to share, for every sigh a sweet song, and an answer for each prayer.”
Thanks, Vin, for the great memories. I’m going to miss that voice on the radio when next season rolls around.