Cubs fans watching the game against the Dodgers on Sunday on Comcast SportsNet had a rare treat. In the third inning, CSN simulcast the call of Dodgers Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully’s from SportsNet LA.
The game marked the last Cubs-Dodgers tilt Scully, 88, will call on TV. He’s retiring after the season. With that in mind, the Cubs joined the seasonlong celebration of Scully’s 67 years calling Dodgers games.
Before the game Friday, manager Joe Maddon and catcher David Ross, who came up with the Dodgers in 2002, visited Scully in the booth and presented him with a No. 67 plate from the Wrigley Field scoreboard and a Dodgers flag that flew from the roof of the ballpark. A video of the visit was posted on the Cubs’ Facebook page.
“He’s one of the iconic voices and faces,” Maddon said. “To be able to have the knowledge of the game and be able to weave a story as well as he can simultaneously in total recall on events that had happened over the past half a century or more is just a very unique skill set.”
Scully made his simulcast inning Cubs-centric. He talked about Wrigley Field and his national broadcast of the first official night game there in 1988 on NBC. He lamented that WGN was stuck with the rained-out game the night before.
Scully also said Cubs fans wouldn’t hear “raspberries” from Dodgers fans for decades of heartache because both teams have lost seven consecutive World Series. Of course, the difference is the Dodgers snapped their skid in 1955 in Brooklyn. The Cubs’ skid is still alive.
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