It was something that Dodger fans looked forward to every fall – other than a hopeful trip to the World Series, of course. In fact, it was arguably the single most anticipated announcement every year once the calendar flipped over to August. It was the clockwork-like annual announcement that Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully would be returning for (at least) one more year. And even though we all knew deep down inside that the day would eventually come when the just-turned 89-year-old Bronx, New York native would eventually hang up his microphone, Dodger fans around the world silently hoped and prayed that the Greatest Of All Time (G.O.A.T.) – the voice of the Dodgers; the voice of summer; the voice of God – would come back for just one more season … again. After all, this is exactly what he had done for 65 years, five months and 22 days when he entered Guinness World Records for ‘Longest career as a sports broadcaster for a single team’ on September 23, 2015.

To the delight of everyone, Scully agreed to come back for the 2016 season. That was the good news. The bad news was that along with this very welcomed announcement at his August 29, 2015 press conference, Scully also broke the news that the 2016 season would be his last.

“I would say, realistically – I don’t want any headlines – but next year would be the last one,” Scully told his heartbroken but understanding and respectful media audience. “How much longer can you go fooling people ‘Dear God, if you give me next year, I’ll hang it up?’ I do feel in my bones that will be enough. I’m sure the people will feel that will be enough, too. Enough is enough. Without a doubt, next year. My gosh, what’s that saying? ‘Talk about next year and make the devil laugh?’ I’m very wary of that.”

Go figure. Even in his brief retirement announcement Scully once again proved why he is the unequivocal G.O.A.T.

Although retirement is a very significant and happy time in a person’s life, Scully’s announcement that 2016 would be his final season was among the saddest times for every Dodger fan on the planet.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

After a season-long, self-requested non-farewell tour (yeah, right) which included special road trips to San Diego, Anaheim and San Francisco, Scully made his final home broadcast on Sunday, September 25, 2016 on Fan Appreciation Day, although ‘Vin Appreciation Day’ was a far more appropriate description – at least from the fans’ perspective.

“There was no way that I was going to miss this,” said 64-year-old Will Isabella, a lifelong Brooklyn and LA Dodger fan who flew out from his home in New York City to be part of Vin Scully Weekend. “I’ve been a Dodger fan my entire life and Vin has been there for every minute of it. He’s also a former New Yorker, even if he is from the Bronx.”

Likewise, 43-year-old Mike LeClair and his 19-year-old son Curtis, die-hard Dodger fans from Cranbrook, British Columbia, Canada, also traveled to Los Angeles for Vin Scully Weekend.

“That weekend was basically like our World Series. It was one of those life-changing times in our lives,” said the elder LeClair of their whirlwind trip to Los Angeles. “I simply cannot believe that weekend happened. I’m not sure another trip to Dodger Stadium will ever compare to Vin Scully Weekend. It was simply incredible.”

Hearing Vin Scully sing ‘You are the Wind Beneath My Wings’ made a very emotional day even more so.
(Photo credit – Stephen Dunn)

The Dodgers did their part to make Scully’s final broadcast from Dodger Stadium a memorable one. After making a dramatic bottom of the ninth-inning comeback on a Corey Seager home run to tie the game and send it into extras, the unlikeliest of heroes – 27-year-old utility infielder Charlie Culberson – hit a game-winning, walk-off, division-clinching ‘Would you believe a home run?’ (as Scully called it) in the bottom of the 10th inning to propel the Dodgers into their fourth consecutive postseason.

And then, just like that, it was over. After 67 remarkable and historic seasons, Vin Scully had called his final game and his final home run at Dodger Stadium.

Even though it was probably the furthest thing from his mind at the time, Charlie Culberson etched his name into Dodgers immortality on September 25, 2016. He will also forever be directly linked to Vin Scully, which is a really cool thing. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka and Jon SooHoo)

Although Scully would travel with the team to San Francisco the following weekend to call the final three games of the now-locked-up 2016 season and was graciously honored by the Giants with a commemorative plaque that will permanently adorn the walls of the AT&T Park press box, it was his final home broadcast the week before that culminated what will forever be known as ‘Vin Scully Weekend’ that Dodger fans – young and old – will cherish for the rest of the lives.

This beautiful plaque will forever bless the press box walls of AT&T Park in San Francisco. (Photo courtesy of @SFGiants)

So where do we go from here?

Knowing that this painful day would eventually come, Dodgers executive vice president and chief marketing officer Lon Rosen had the foresight and wisdom to hire up-and-coming (then) 28-year-old Fox Sports broadcaster Joe Davis. And even though Davis is still under contract with Fox and must continue to honor his contractual agreement to cover college football (among other commitments), he will take over full-time play-by-play duties for all regionally televised Dodger games – home and away – on SportsNet LA, excluding games nationally televised on ESPN and Fox Sports 1 beginning in 2017.

There is zero doubt that Joe Davis will do an exceptional job as the Dodgers new full-time play-by-play man for every Dodgers home and road broadcast in 2017. But the simple truth is that no one will ever replace Vin Scully. Not ever. (Photo credit – Jon SooHoo)

But with Scully’s retirement, so too went the last one-man broadcasting booth in major league baseball. As such, Dodger fans must now get used to having at least a two-person and more than likely a three-person booth for all future SportsNet LA-televised Dodgers broadcasts. In no way is this meant as a knock on Orel Hershiser or Nomar Garciaparra and most certainly not on Joe Davis, but the cold hard truth is that there is going to be significantly more back-and-forth chatter in the booth, which is going to take some serious getting used to for those of us who were so very very comfortable with Vin Scully’s seemingly one-on-one conversations with each and every one of us; especially for us old-timers who grew up listening to (and later watching) Vin Scully for our entire lives.

Any way you slice it, the phrase ‘It’s time for Dodger baseball’ isn’t going to have the same feel to it again.

…not ever.