Vin Scully Agrees to 64th Season in Broadcast Booth; Further Cements His Status as Baseball Royalty

"On the mound for the Dowdgas, Cllayton Kershowww..."

On Sunday, the Los Angeles Dodgers announced that legendary broadcaster Vin Scully, who has been with the team since their days in Brooklyn - 1950, to be exact - would return for a 64th season calling Dodger games next year.  Popular belief and opinion was that Scully, now 84, would call it a career after this season after coming back on one-year deals for several consecutive campaigns.  In addition, the broadcaster's declining health and age has meant that for the last several campaigns he has not travelled with the team outside of the Western time zone, only calling away games in San Diego, San Francisco, and Arizona.

Scully said in a statement that one of the reasons that he has decided to come back was that he was "energized" by the team's new moves.  The Dodgers' new ownership, which bought the team for $2.15 billion in the spring, has added a tremendous amount of salary in the last month, bringing in Josh Beckett, Adrian Gonzalez, Hanley Ramirez, Carl Crawford, and others in an attempt to win now. Scully says that he wants to be around to see where the club can go.  As of this writing, LA is two games out of the NL West and a game and a half out of the second wild card spot.
As an MLB.tv customer for the last five seasons while watching Clayton Kershaw own, I've discovered what everyone else who has followed baseball has known forever - Scully is a treasure and perhaps the greatest to ever be in the booth in any sport.  The man has forgotten more about the game and those who play it than most of us will ever know, and he shares this knowledge with his listeners like a bedtime story.  Want to know a funny tidbit from the opposing starting pitcher's childhood?  Give a Dodgers broadcast a listen.  There's also something hilarious about hearing an 84 year old man advertise for a "family restaurant" like El Pollo Loco.  They have great meal deals, you know!
My uncle, an LA resident, texted me after I told him that Scully will probably die in the booth.  And that's probably the way it should be.

Follow @HarryHawkings