Vin Scully Was Close To Becoming Yankees Broadcaster In 1964

He’s the voice of the Dodgers, but more importantly, Vin Scully is the most iconic baseball voice left in the game. He’s synonymous with the team and is the soundtrack of so many summers in Los Angeles.

Scully came with the Dodgers to Los Angeles from Brooklyn, but there was a point in his career where the New York Yankees were after him. In 1964, the Yankees were looking to replace their play-by-play announcer and Jim Beal from BBDO advertising agency had a conversation with Scully.

According to Brian Costa of the Wall Street Journal, Scully remembers the conversation the two had:

“He said, ‘Would you be interested if there was an opening?’ ” Scully said. It was not a formal offer, and there was never any direct communication between Scully and the Yankees. But Scully said it was understood by both men that the job would be his if he wanted it. “It was a very thinly veiled offer,” he said.

Scully is in his 64th consecutive season as the play-by-play announcer of the Dodgers and it’s incredible that there was a point in his career where he was a “free agent”. Born in the Bronx and living in New York all his life, it would’ve made perfect sense for Vin to stay in New York, but he realized what he had with the Dodgers was truly special.

Speaking to Costa, Scully recalled his reverence for former Dodgers owner Peter O’Malley and what the Dodgers were building:

Recalling his response at the lunch with Beal, Scully said, “I said, ‘I don’t think so, Jim, because the Dodgers have been so good to me. And I feel I’m so much a part of the family. I don’t think I could ever leave.’ “

Every year could be Vin’s last year, but with Yasiel Puig electrifying Dodger Stadium and leaving him speechless, hopefully that prolongs his career behind the mic.