Lessons from Vin

I like baseball a great deal. I am not as much of a fanatic now at age 68 than I was many decades ago when I watched, listened and played the game, but I still am a big follower. 

The death earlier this month of Vin Scully, the legendary broadcaster of the Los Angeles Dodgers, at age 94 brought together two of my interests, a love of baseball and the respect for lives well lived. I read every article I could find on Vin Scully and learned a great deal about him.

Mr. Scully was far more than a baseball announcer. He helped many people understand the sometimes-complicated game of baseball, but he also told interesting human stories that went well beyond baseball.  He visited and called friends who were sick and he grew his faith by attending catholic Mass weekly. He was a public symbol of surviving the sudden and some unexpected deaths of his first wife, his son Michael who died in a helicopter crash in 1994, and his second wife, Sandi, who died from complications of ALS.

I have worked with many folks who have survived deaths of close family members and have learned from them how difficult that is. Public figures demonstrate to others ways to reconcile tragic circumstances. While I don’t know all the details of Vin Scully’s grief and mourning, I suspect he learned about his grief and how to attend to it. Most likely, his faith allowed him to mourn by speaking with others about his grief and understanding the means of handling his losses. He would not bury his grief, which he probably knew would lead to more pain than sharing his emotions.

Earlier this year, answering a question about his legacy from Bill Plaschke, sports columnist with the Los Angeles Times, Mr. Scully said, “I want  people to remember me as a good man, a good husband, a good father and a good grandfather.” 

I received an internet message from Major League Baseball last week asking Vin’s fans to vote on his best or most memorable baseball call. He called a perfect game by Sandy Koufax, a World Series homerun by Kirk Gibson, and many others. For me, of the 10 samples in this survey, I would vote for an announcement Vin Scully made before the first baseball game following the 9/11 disaster (see youtube: vin scully 9/11 speech). He acknowledged the deep pain so many Americans were feeling, yet he also spoke of the character of our country saying: “despite a heavy heart, we should pick ourselves up from the dirt, brush ourselves off and get back to our lives.” 

Vin Scully was a baseball genius, but he also was a counselor, priest and friend. A man who just wanted to be a good husband, father and grandfather. A man who had a humility that is needed these days. May he rest in peace and may his friends and family be At Peace!