Forman: A statistical trip through Vin Scully’s Dodgers career

From SABR member Sean Forman at Medium.com on September 21, 2016:

In 1950, the Brooklyn Dodgers finished 2 games out of first place in the National League, behind a .400-OBP, 7-WAR season from Jackie Robinson, three players cracking 30 Home Runs (Roy Campanella, Gil Hodges, and Duke Snider), and plenty of pitching from workhorses Don Newcombe and Preacher Roe. Looking on from the broadcast booth was a 22-year-old who had been hired by Red Barber to supplement the team’s radio and television broadcast team.

Three years later, Vin Scully became the youngest broadcaster to call a World Series game, a record that stands today. Five years after that, Scully followed the team on its cross-country relocation to Los Angeles. And now, in 2016, the greatest broadcaster in sports history is retiring.

Scully has influenced, and even created, generations of baseball fans, calling some of the most iconic moments in baseball history while also having the skill to make a trivial late August game just as entertaining. As someone who roots for an East Coast team, I’ve spent many nights switching to the Dodgers the moment my team finished playing. As a fan of an NL club, one of the highlights of every season is my team’s annual road trip to Dodger Stadium, just for the chance to switch to the Away Feed on MLB.TV.

<snip>

To pay tribute to our favorite announcer, we’ve dug through the Baseball-Reference database to relive some of the greatest games, seasons, and statistical tidbits from Vin Scully’s extraordinary career.

Read the full article here: https://medium.com/@sports_ref/a-statistical-trip-thru-vin-scullys-extraordinary-career-a9928bc5eaf8#.3rww8nlsk



Originally published: September 22, 2016. Last Updated: September 22, 2016.