Vin Scully was more than just a broadcaster

Three of my childhood sports icons — Kobe Bryant, Vin Scully and David Ortiz — all have announced their retirement this year.

On April 13, Bryant played his last game as a Laker. It will be a day that’s forever close to my heart. I got to spend it with my dad, my friend Hailey and our family friend Ralph. While my dad was able to be in Staples Center, Hailey, Ralph and I watched Kobe drop 60 points in his final game together on a big screen at the corner of Figueroa and 7th Streets, surrounded by fellow Lakers fans. In my No. 24 jersey, it was a day well worth the tears.

On May 24, I got to see Big Papi play at Fenway for the first time. Getting to chant “Papi!” in unison with the entire stadium was just one highlight of a day that 8-year-old Jodee had always dreamed about. He hit well and was responsible for four of the team’s eight runs in their victory. Decked out in my No. 34 jersey, it was also a day well worth the tears.

On Oct. 2, both Ortiz and Scully participated in their final regular-season games, one-on-one on the West Coast and the other on the East Coast. After spending the day watching both games and the ceremonies surrounding each, I was reminded of the greatness that both men brought to baseball and to my life. It was also a day well worth the tears.

Originally, I wanted to write about how each of these three shaped both me and my love for sports, but Sunday night something happened and my idea shifted a bit.

At 9 p.m., I went to mass at the USC Our Savior Parish as I do every Sunday when I’m at USC. During the homily, Father Steve Davoren talked about how a couple of weeks back he received an email asking if he’d like to say mass at Dodgers Stadium. This wasn’t just any mass. It was mass on Sept. 25, Vin’s final day at Dodgers Stadium. Growing up a Dodgers fan, Fr. Steve quickly accepted the invitation.

He shared with everyone about the trip of riding down the elevator with Clayton Kershaw, Yasiel Puig, Adrian Gonzalez and the other Dodgers stars. Once down in the room where mass was being held, Fr. Steve talked about how Vin walked in the room with tears streaming down his face.

Fr. Steve thought his tears were only about the fact that it was his final game at Chavez Ravine. But when Vin walked up to Fr. Steve, he shared with Fr. Steve about how he’d just been in the locker room and all the guys were upset about the tragic passing of Jose Fernandez, the Marlins’ star who died in a boating accident last week. He told the father that he couldn’t imagine the pain Fernandez’s parents must be going through and asked for prayers for his family and teammates.

Fr. Steve was shocked. Here was this man — a legendary broadcaster, on his final day at Dodgers Stadium in his 67th year with the Dodgers — and he’s more worried about others than himself.

Fr. Steve tangentially talked about Kirk Gibson’s home run in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series. He joked about how none of us sitting there are old enough to have seen it live and how it was the last time the Dodgers won the World Series. He did a quick sign of the cross in hopes that the team could win it all this season. As a Dodgers fan and the daughter of a Dodgers fan, I’ve heard my dad talk about Gibson’s home run fondly. Not only was it the last year the Dodgers won the World Series, but Gibson’s home run was also on the night of my dad’s bachelor party. So though I didn’t see it live, I’ve seen the clip and heard Vin’s call a multitude of times.

Fr. Steve shared how he can still picture the full count, two-out pitch and remembers Vin’s call exactly.

“The impossible has happened,” Fr. Steve said to the congregation, re-enacting Scully’s call.

Fr. Steve went on to say that Vin just doesn’t call games: it feels like he’s sharing the game directly with you, like you were in the same room. He said Vin can take the smallest instances on the field and talk about them in such a way that they seem like the most important thing to happen that day.

Of course, Fr. Steve tied all of this back to the Catholic faith. He talked about how having faith as small as a mustard seed can lead to miraculous things. He related that famous line — the impossible has happened — to Jesus and the Catholic faith. For me, it was a culmination of two of the things I hold near to my heart.

By the end of his homily, I had tears in my eyes. Fr. Steve so beautifully summed up why so many people are drawn to Vin Scully, why he’s captured the hearts of baseball fans spanning a number of generations, why I wish I could’ve been able to experience more than just the 20 years — not even a third of Vin’s career — that I’ve experienced.

In the games leading up to his finale, Vin said numerous times that he believes he’s needed fans more than we’ve needed him, going so far as to sing that we’ve been “The Wind Beneath [His] Wings.” To the little red-haired boy that fell in love with baseball so long ago and grew into the broadcaster that everyone knows and loves, thank you for saying “enough for a lifetime.” This is Jodee Storm Sullivan wishing Vin Scully a very pleasant retirement, wherever he may be.

Jodee Storm Sullivan is a junior majoring in broadcast and digital journalism. Her column, “The Storm Report,” runs Tuesdays.