Yesterday I wrote a quick screed -- the best kind, really -- against Major League Baseball using Vin Scully for its P.R. push against some cable companies who are in negotiations with the Dodgers over broadcast rights. I thought it was manipulative and low and I speculated about whether Scully appreciated it all that much.
Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times spoke to Scully after that and got his comments. You will not be surprised to hear that he did not rip anyone. It’d be somewhat jarring and maybe halfway to amazing if Scully ever ripped anyone, but if a good old redass rant was not in his toolbox by age 88 it wasn’t ever gonna be there.
He did feel awkward about it all, however. Scully referred to it as having his name “tossed into a negotiation” and Shaikin characterized Scully as “not being comfortable” with that. Scully said “it’s really kind of embarrassing for me,” though he also said that if it worked to get fans see more games he’d be happy. So it’s not like he’s against the idea of a p.r. campaign to resolve the carriage dispute, he’s just self-conscious about being attached to it.
Fair enough. Scully survived the McCourt years and Bowie Kuhn and all kinds of other dumb baseball people doing misguided things. Not getting his blood pressure up over it all is probably one of the reasons he’s still doing his job and doing it well.
