Watch: Vin Scully again plays national historian on 4th of July

Last year on the 4th of July, Los Angeles Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully took the opportunity to share some history of the American flag and “The Star-Spangled Banner” with his audience on Independence Day. Beginning in the second inning of the ballgame between the Dodgers and Mets, Scully educated viewers with facts such as a version of the U.S. flag once being created with 15 stripes, not 13, when Vermont and Kentucky joined the union. But the decision was eventually made to keep the number of stripes at 13, the number of original colonies.

Scully continued what hopefully becomes a tradition on Dodgers broadcasts (though it would be understandable if the team’s next play-by-play man prefers to let this be Vin’s thing) this year by sharing more knowledge about our country’s history with viewers. Rather than talk about the Dodgers and Orioles, two teams that rarely play each other, Scully began the July 4 broadcast by telling the origins of the National Anthem:

How about learning something about the song we hear and sing along with before every sporting event we attend? Even if you know the National Anthem’s significance, how many know the story behind its creation?

The history lessons continued during the ballgame, as you can see and hear in the next video. For instance, did you know only two people had signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776?

Thanks to Vin Scully, plenty of baseball fans are armed with trivia about July 4 to share at the watercooler through the rest of the week. Hey Bob, did you know when July 4 officially became an unpaid holiday? That is, if Bob isn’t on vacation this week. If he is, send him an email.

This sort of thing might not appeal to all viewers, but the 4th of July is certainly an occasion for something besides just baseball talk. Pregame intros about lineups, pitching, matchups and recent games is something that can be heard before and during the other 161 games on the MLB schedule. Why not remind and educate viewers as to why we celebrate Independence Day?