When was the last time you were at a book event?  You know, where the author talks about his new book, takes questions from the audience, then signs your copy, personalizing it for you?

It has been a while since I was last at one, but this month I’ve been to two; coincidentally both books are related to the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

One book event was held at Vroman’s in Pasadena, an institution among independent bookstores since 1894; it is up for sale which makes its numerous loyal customers very nervous.

Perfect Eloquence:  An Appreciation of Vin Scully, edited by Tom Hoffarth, is a compendium of Vin Scully stories about the legendary Dodger announcer who passed away in 2022.

The physical book cover is printed in Dodger blue with an illustration of a microphone.

The top floor of the bookstore was overflowing with people.  This is the effect Vin Scully has on people two years after he passed away at age 94.

In addition to editor Hoffarth, seven other contributors were also in attendance:  journalists Chris Erskine, Paul Haddad, Pat Morrison, Ron Rapoport, Sammy Roth, and two very special guests, Hall of Fame announcer for the Los Angeles Kings Bob Miller and former Los Angeles Dodger executive Fred Claire.

Each one spoke about the piece they wrote for the book.  Each remembrance shared one thing in common:  that Vin Scully was the most generous man they every knew.  Notice that the focus is on the man, not the voice, which is how Vin Scully himself would have preferred to be remembered. 

Paul Haddad reminisced about the one time he met Vin Scully a couple of hours before a ballgame.  When he was escorted to the Press Box by a Dodger official, he saw Vin speaking into a microphone.  Haddad asked the official, “Is he recording commercials?”  The man responded, “No, he’s practicing.”  This story underscored how prepared Vin Scully was no matter how long he did the job, and he did the Dodger announcing job for 67 years.

The stories shared by Fred Claire were the most significant ones for he had a 50-year friendship with Vin.  He knew him better than anyone.

Fred Claire said that Vin had a perfect life in that he grasped the meaning of how to live one’s life:  being gracious to others.  He mentioned one time at Dodger Stadium a young reporter armed with a tape recorder came to interview Vin Scully before a ballgame.  The interview lasted 45 minutes.  Afterwards, Claire looked at the reporter who had tears in his eyes.  It turned out the tape recorder wasn’t working.  So Claire explained the situation to Vin, who said, “Tell the young man we’ll do the interview again.”

Claire spoke about how Vin and Jackie Robinson were very similar in their temperament.  At one of the last baseball events Jackie attended, when his vision was so diminished that lights had to be turned off whenever he was inside, a fan from the stands threw a baseball towards Robinson for him to sign, unaware about his poor eyesight.  Not seeing the ball, it bounced off his shoulder and hit his head.  People around him were yelling at security to throw the man out, but Jackie asked for the ball, signed it, and told people, “Return this to the gentleman.”

As Robinson famously said, “A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.”  In Jackie’s and Vin’s case, they were very important people indeed.

The second event took place at Stories Books and Cafe in Echo Park.  Andy McCullough, a senior writer at the Athletic, wrote The Last of His Kind:  Clayton Kershaw & The Burden of Greatness about future Hall of Famer pitcher Clayton Kershaw.  Andy was a beat writer for the Los Angeles Times covering the Dodgers which is how he knew Kershaw.  His former Times colleague, famed columnist Bill Plaschke, was the moderator.

What made the event extra special for me was that both McCullough and Plaschke visited my journalism classes.  When I did the high school newspaper, I would reach out to professional journalists to inspire my young students. 

When I mentioned this to both men that night, they did recall those outings.  Plaschke even remembered the name of a couple of my students who have remained in touch with him over the years.  I told him that I retired from teaching in 2020; he went up to me, shook my hand and said, “Bless you for what did.”

I happened to be the first person in line to have McCullough sign a book.  He didn’t have a pen, but I did and gave it to him.  After opening the book to locate a place to sign, he paused, puzzled and said, “I’ve never done this before, what do I write?”  That day was the release of the book so this was his very first signing event.

My initial thought was to tell him that I had two books published and had signings, but instead told him blandly, “Write ‘thanks for your interest’.”

If you’re a Dodger fan, you will have “interest” in having these two insightful new books published in the same month.  They will put you in Blue Heaven.

Editor Tom Hoffarth, contributors Sammy Roth, Paul Haddad, Ron Rapoport, Fred Claire, Chris Erskine, Bob Miller, Pat Morrison at Vroman’s Bookstore.

Author Andy McCullough and Moderator/Columnist Bill Plaschke at Stories Bookstore.