Vin Scully is 89 years old, but you wouldn’t have known it from how he handled master of ceremony duties for tonight’s first pitch at Dodger Stadium. Effortlessly holding court on the mound, Scully bantered for a few minutes in typically self-deprecating fashion, then made as if he would throw out the first pitch, as had been announced.
Instead, though, he “hurt his arm,” in a Caddyshack sense, and instead made a call for a left-handed reliever.
CHILLS. Vin Scully throws out the first pitch with some help from Fernando Valenzuela. #ITFDB https://t.co/HhMcHShkGX
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 26, 2017
In came Fernando Valenzuela, who delivered the ball to the plate, a moment we missed as FOX had the on-field camera circling around the mound like it was a shot in For Love of the Gameaccording to Joe Buck or something. Still, this was a fun moment, and it’s always fantastic to see Vin Scully again. He’s perhaps the only universally-loved broadcaster, and it’s a shame that he’s too selfless to have taken FOX up on what is a standing offer to help out for postseason coverage two years in a row now.
Joe Buck also added these touching words about Scully shortly after the first pitch.
Fun moment. The Dodgers are up 1-0 in the series, and though it might otherwise be hard to root for the team with the biggest payroll in baseball against a team from a city that was just ravaged by hurricane-related flooding, just think about how happy Vin Scully would be to see the Dodgers win.
Video [Streamable and The Big Lead]