Rank Vin Scully’s best (baseball) calls of all time in Dodgers’ poll.

What is Vin Scully’s greatest call ever?

The Dodgers announced an online contest for fans to determine the answer. Now through August 12, visit www.dodgers.com/Vin and rank Scully’s top 20 all-time best calls. The Dodgers announced that the top 20 Scully calls will be revealed beginning Aug. 13, culminating with the unveiling of the top two on Vin Scully Appreciation Night September 23.

Scully is in his 67th and final season as the voice of the Dodgers.

Here’s a list of the 20 calls that are up for voting:

  • October 8, 1956 – Don Larsen perfect game – In Game 5 of the 1956 World Series, Don Larsen threw the first and only perfect game in World Series history, giving the New York Yankees a 3-2 series lead against the Brooklyn Dodgers. He struck out seven and retired all 27 batters he faced. The Yankees would go on to win the World Series in seven games, and Larsen was voted the World Series MVP.
  • May 7, 1959 – Roy Campanella Night at Coliseum – A record-breaking crowd of 93,103 filled the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for an exhibition game between the Dodgers and the Yankees to benefit former Dodger catcher Roy Campanella. Campanella had been an eight-time All-Star with the Brooklyn Dodgers before the team moved west and a car crash paralyzed him from the shoulders down, ending his career.
  • September 29, 1959 – NL Pennant “We go to Chicago” – Following the 1959 regular season, the Milwaukee Braves and the Los Angeles Dodgers finished with the same record, forcing them to play a best-of-three series to determine the winner of the National League pennant. The Dodgers won the first game, 3-2, and the second game, 6-5, in a 12-inning walk-off thriller. They went on to defeat the Chicago White Sox in the World Series in six games.
  • September 9, 1965 – Sandy Koufax perfect game – In the ultimate pitching duel, Sandy Koufax struck out 14 batters and threw a perfect game in the Dodgers’ 1-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs at Dodger Stadium. (Chicago’s Bob Hendley lost despite allowing only one hit.) During the ninth inning, Scully famously said, “There are 29,000 people in the ballpark and a million butterflies.”
  • May 31, 1968 – Controversial play extends Drysdale’s streak – In the midst of throwing his fifth consecutive shutout and setting a then-Major League record of 58 2/3 scoreless innings, Don Drysdale loaded the bases in the ninth inning against the Giants before hitting San Francisco catcher Dick Dietz with a pitch. The hit batter would have ended his streak, but the plate umpire determined that Dietz made no attempt to get out of the way of the ball, extending the at-bat and allowing Drysdale to keep his streak intact.
  • April 8, 1974 – Hank Aaron’s 715th homer – In a game between the Dodgers and the Braves in Atlanta, Hank Aaron launched a pitch off Dodger lefty Al Downing over the wall in left-center field for his 715th career home run, breaking Babe Ruth’s career home run record. After letting the crowd roar and the team celebrate, Scully said, “What a marvelous moment for baseball. What a marvelous moment for Atlanta and the state of Georgia. What a marvelous moment for the country and the world. A black man is getting a standing ovation in the Deep South for breaking a record of an all-time idol.”
  • October 10, 1974 – Joe Ferguson’s throw home in 1974 World Series – Ferguson delivered one of the best throws in playoff history when he cut in front of center-fielder Jimmy Wynn and threw out Sal Bando at home plate in Game 1 of the 1974 World Series against the Oakland A’s.
  • April 25, 1976 – Rick Monday saves flag – As a member of the Chicago Cubs 40 years ago, outfielder Rick Monday saved an American flag from being burned by two protesters on the outfield grass during a game at Dodger Stadium.
  • April 9, 1981 – Fernandomania begins with Opening Day shutout – On Opening Day 1981, Fernando Valenzuela made his first career start and stunned the Astros and the baseball world with a shutout. The 20-year-old lefty from Mexico went on to toss eight consecutive complete games to start the season and won the Cy Young Award before helping the Dodgers win the World Series that year.
  • September 11, 1983 – R.J. Reynolds: The Squeeze! – With the bases loaded and the game tied 6-6 in the ninth, Dodger outfielder R.J. Reynolds put down a suicide squeeze bunt to score the winning run in a pivotal game against the Braves during the NL pennant race. Scully announced, “The pictures told it all. There isn’t any way I could improve on the picture. What a story. The squeeze in the ninth. The Dodgers score four times and pull it out and beat the Braves, 7 to 6. They show the squeeze on Diamond Vision and the crowd, euphoric in its joy, roars again.”
  • October 15, 1988 – Kirk Gibson homer – It’s safe to say Scully inspired Kirk Gibson to hit one of the most famous home runs in baseball history. At Game 1 of the 1988 World Series, Scully announced that Gibson wasn’t in the dugout and for sure wouldn’t be playing. Gibson then proved him wrong and got dressed and ready to pinch hit. He limped to the plate with the Dodgers down 4-3 when he hit a walk-off two-run home run off Dennis Eckersley to beat the Oakland A’s. Scully said, “In a year that has been so improbable, the impossible has happened.”
  • June 29, 1990 – Fernando Valenzuela no-hitter – Fernando Valenzuela became the first Mexican to throw a no-hitter in MLB history and, as the final outs were recorded, in celebration, Scully exclaimed, “If you have a sombrero, throw it to the sky!”
  • October 3, 1993 – Mike Piazza’s second homer to beat the Giants – On the final day of the 1993 season, Mike Piazza hit two home runs at Candlestick Park to help the Dodgers beat the Giants and ruin San Francisco’s chance at a playoff berth.
  • September 17, 1996 – Hideo Nomo first Coors Field no-hitter – At Coors Field, a notorious hitter’s ballpark, Hideo Nomo threw the first and only no-hitter. Scully proclaimed, “I mean, anybody who can throw seven innings here and not allow a hit should be carried up to home plate in a gold sedan chair!”
  • May 22, 1999 – Mark McGwire hits ball out of Dodger Stadium – As a member of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1999, Mark McGuire hit a ball 483 feet to left-center field, bouncing off the top of the left-field pavilion. It was his second homer of the night and even caused Scully to say, “Whoa!” on the broadcast.
  • September 17, 2001 – Post 9/11 return –Scully gave a touching speech for more than two and a half minutes before the Dodgers’ first game back following the terror attacks on 9/11. He said, “The president of the United States has said it is time to go back to work. And so, despite a heavy heart, baseball gets up out of the dirt, brushes itself off, and will follow his command, hoping in some small way to inspire the nation to do the same.”
  • September 18, 2006 – Nomar Garciaparra’s homer to end the 4+1 game – The Dodgers entered the bottom of the ninth inning down 9-5 to the San Diego Padres before hitting four consecutive solo homers to tie the game, forcing it into extras. The Padres scored a run in the top of the 10th to take the lead once again, but Garciaparra completed the wild comeback victory with a two-run, walk-off home run in the bottom half of the 10th. Scully called it “unbelievable.”
  • July 22, 2009 – Manny Ramirez bobble-slam – On his own bobblehead night, Manny Ramirez came into the game in the sixth inning with the bases loaded and hit a pinch-hit grand slam into the Mannywood section of Dodger Stadium to give the Dodgers the lead in their 6-2 win over the Reds.
  • June 4, 2013 – Yasiel Puig grand slam in his fourth game – In just his fourth game, Yasiel Puig hit his third home run and first career grand slam. It was also his second home run of the game, and Scully exclaimed, “And a high fly ball into deep right field…I don’t believe it! A grand slam home run!”
  • June 18, 2014 – Clayton Kershaw no-hitter – In arguably one of the most dominant no-hitters in MLB history, Clayton Kershaw became the first and only pitcher to throw a no-hitter while striking out 15 batters and not issuing a single walk. The only baserunner of the evening came on a Hanley Ramirez error in the seventh inning. It was the 19th no-hitter called by Vin Scully.
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About J.P. Hoornstra

J.P. Hoornstra covers the Dodgers, Angels and Major League Baseball for the Orange County Register, Los Angeles Daily News, Long Beach Press-Telegram, Torrance Daily Breeze, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Pasadena Star-News, San Bernardino Sun, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Whittier Daily News and Redlands Daily Facts. Before taking the beat in 2012, J.P. covered the NHL for four years. UCLA gave him a degree once upon a time; when he graduated on schedule, he missed getting Arnold Schwarzenegger's autograph on his diploma by five months.