Vin Scully passes away
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As a side note, the Blue Jays original TV broadcaster Tony Kubek is still going strong at 86.
Vin Scully was a walking baseball encyclopedia. Often he rambled on but damn his intimate knowledge of all things baseball is pretty much unparalleled. I guess that's how he lasted in the business a whopping 66 years. My goodness. RIP to this legend.
Tony Kubek is a kid compared to Vin Scully, who died at 94. Scully started broadcasting in 1950 and called the games for the "Boys of Summer." In over 66 years in the booth, he saw the move from Brooklyn to Los Angeles and saw many Dodger Hall of Famers such as Koufax and Drysdale, Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella and Duke Snider.
RIP Vin. I could imagine that he would be calling an all-star game of long-gone heroes on a sunny day in Ebbets Field in eternity. What would the teams include?
Sorry to get off track, but I learned more about baseball from Kubek than anyone else. I was 11 years old when we got the Jays. There were 2 televised Jay games a week(Wednesday evening and Sunday afternoon), plus NBC's game of the week on Saturday afternoon. Kubek was the colour commentator on all 3 of those broadcasts. I could listen to him talk baseball all day. Unfortunately, he apparently became quite bitter in his old age and was a bit of a recluse. Honourable mention to Joe Garagiola and Don Chevrier, both of whom did the play-by-play with Kubek.
The starting line up for the 1955 Bums.
1. Jackie Robinson
2. Pee Wee Reese
3. Duke Snider
4. Gil Hodges
5. Roy Campanella
Tommy Lasorda pitched one game for Da Bums the previous year and never returned.
RIP Vincenzo Sculli. Correction Vincent Scully...not Italian American.
1. Jackie Robinson
2. Pee Wee Reese
3. Duke Snider
4. Gil Hodges
5. Roy Campanella
Tommy Lasorda pitched one game for Da Bums the previous year and never returned.
RIP Vincenzo Sculli. Correction Vincent Scully...not Italian American.
For some (many?) Dodger players, the road to Brooklyn ran through Montreal.
Montreal Royals - A Team That Made Baseball History (dodgersway.com)
Why has the great Carl Furillo been continually omitted from discussions of the "Boys of Summer?" He merely batted .314 with 26 homers and 95 rbis.
Back in those days, I had a few Brooklyn Dodger baseball cards. I had Clem Labine, who pitched 60 games in 1955 with 13 wins and helped push the team to 98 wins. Also, I had Don Newcombe's card. He was a very good pitcher with 20 wins in 1955, but could wallop the ball when he came to bat, with a .359, 7, 23 line in 1955. Finally, I had Don Hoak's card. It was not even worth one Marv Throneberry card. Hoak was a bench jockey who batted a solid .240, 5, 19. Hoak was forgettable.
The Emperor of Right Field: Carl Furillo - HowTheyPlay
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May 09, 2016 · Furillo was now their property. He was brought up to the Montreal Royals, the Dodgers’ principal farm team. His dream was now within reach. But
The Emperor of Right Field: Carl Furillo - HowTheyPlay
I still think Carl Furillo should be in the Hall of Fame. He had a rifle arm and his lifetime batting average was just a hair under .300 at .299 with home run power and even higher than Mantle's lifetime at .298 or Kaline's at .297. Even Marvelous Marv Throneberry indicated that it took 43 Marv Throneberry cards to get one Carl Furillo.
Although a very good ball player Furillo didn't get over 2000 hits and was only a two time all star with pedestrian post season numbers and a War of 36.
Those numbers aren't going to get you into the Hallowed hall I'm afraid.
You made this comment before when I shilled for Carl Furillo for the Hall. If you look at the roster of the Hall, many members of the Hall do not have Furillo's numbers. Even among your list of the "Boys of Summer," Peewee Reese and Roy Campanella did not attain or exceed Furillo's numbers. Hall of Famers such as Tony Oliva and Enos Slaughter were similar to Furillo, but Luis Aparicio, Larry Doby, Bobby Doerr, Joe Tinker and and Lou Boudreau, Denny McLain's father-in-law, among others, did not have Furillo's career numbers.
What could have been.
Pete Reiser's impact on Major League Baseball | Los Angeles Dodgers (mlb.com)
Pete Reiser's impact on Major League Baseball | Los Angeles Dodgers (mlb.com)
Vin Scully was more than just the best baseball broadcaster ever - Sports Illustrated
He was a modern Socrates, only more revered, simultaneously a giant and our best friend.
www.si.com
So lets look at WAR shall we...Reese 68. Campanella 41. Aparicio 55. Doerr 51. Tinker 53. Doby 56. Oliva 43. Slaughter 57
All-star appearances..............Reese 10. Campanella 8 plus a 3 time MVP. Aparicio 10 plus a 9 time GG winner. Oliva 8 plus ROY winner. Slaughter 10. Doby 7. Doerr 9. Tinker 0 becuase they have all star games in those days I believe.
So I will stick with my assertion that Furillo was a very good ball player but with a WAR of 36 and only a two time all star he wasn't a dominant player in his generation.
