August 23, 2013

BP Unfiltered

Celebrating a 65th Season for Vin Scully

by Ben Lindbergh

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For the fourth straight year, the end of August has brought the same special announcement: broadcasting icon Vin Scully will be back in the booth next season. Three years ago today, Scully announced that he'd return for a 62nd season behind the mic in 2011, and to mark the occasion, I made an infographic about the comings and goings in other areas of the Dodgers organization over Scully's time with the team. Scully has seen many more Dodgers (and a couple McCourts) pass through Los Angeles over the last few years, so now that he's announced his intention to complete a 65th season in 2014, it's time to bring the infographic up to date.

Since Scully was hired, 889 players have taken the field for the Dodgers, ranging from the Brooklyn rosters of Robinson, Reese, Snider, and Campanella to Brian Wilson, who made his Dodgers debut last night. For the purposes of this chart, each player was assigned to the position he played the most for the team. The figurine images that make up each row are Scully bobbleheads, which you can kind of make out if you click to enlarge. As the legend at the lower left indicates, each full bobblehead stands for two people, places, or things.

Since the middle of last century, the Dodgers franchise has moved across the country, taken last licks in three different ballparks, changed ownership and leadership, and employed an ever-changing cast of characters in the dugout. But the voice of the Dodgers remains the same—and unlike a lot of legends, as listenable as ever. I hope I'll have to update this image for some time to come.

Thanks to Rob McQuown for research assistance.

Ben Lindbergh is an author of Baseball Prospectus. Follow @benlindbergh
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