When Los Angeles Dodgers public address announcer Todd Leitz first took the job, it was none less than broadcasting legend Vin Scully who welcomed him to the press box, he said in an exclusive interview with Dodgers Nation’s Noel Sanchez.
Leitz, who very nearly was the PA announcer for the San Diego Padres, said Scully was a legendary figure for him and other broadcasters, making the moment incredible.
“Yeah, I mean, talk about bumping into somebody,” Leitz detailed to Sanchez. “I bumped right into Vin Scully and man, Vin was a hero of mine for sure. And so I just kind of said, ‘Hey Vin, I’m the new PA.’ And he goes, ‘I know who you are. You’re Todd Leitz.'”
‘What a master’
Leitz said it was a “wow” moment for him, but he wasn’t going to let it pass without asking one of the all-time greats for his secret sauce.
“And I was like, ‘Wow. Well sir, if there’s anything that you can tell me…’ and he goes, ‘Ah, nonsense. You’re going to be fine,'” Leitz revealed.
It’s such a simple compliment, but as Leitz pointed out, he conveyed so much in that short sentence.
“In five words, he made me feel recognized, acknowledged, welcomed, and gave me an attaboy like, ‘You got this,’ so what a master,” he said.
From rookie to veteran
With 11 years now under his belt, Leitz has seen one of the greatest stretches of Dodgers history.
Now that the Dodgers are chasing a historic three-peat, Leitz is soaking up what he calls some of his favorite parts of the job.
“I love doing the lineups,” he told Sanchez. “I love doing the starting lineup because that kind of lets everybody know who’s on the field that day, and that’s a real exciting part of the pregame. I love the military hero. I edit the military hero script every day because I think it’s important to give those guys the recognition and the honor they deserve for what they’ve done, and I try to make it sound exciting and fun. So those two things are my top.”
He also has advice for someone looking to follow in his footsteps.
“My story is really kind of unusual because I came to it late in life,” he said. “I was ready, but I came to it late in life. But if this is something that you want—you’re a young person—do it for your high school team. Do it for whatever sport you like, pick the one that you really like and you really know well. Get on the path. You just got to do it somewhere at some level and keep on pushing your way upward.”
Leitz noted that it’s no guarantee that you’ll find the job of your dreams now, but sometimes, all it takes is getting your foot in the door.
“Once you set foot on the path, the path might diverge for you,” he said. “You might not end up as a PA announcer; you may end up as a play-by-play guy or you might find out that you’re a camera operator or something like that. But it’ll get you in the game, and you will find where you belong by just starting, taking that first step, and doing it.”
One Response
Boy do I miss watching Dodger games with Vin broadcasting. I live on the east coast and the games started at 10:10 here and ran past midnight when my house was quiet for the night. It was me ,Vin and the Dodgers. It was just great.