MLB
Sports Fans Are Lining up for a Special Twitter and Instagram Improvement
John Moriello started covering sports in 1982, began digital publishing in 1995, and joined Sportscasting in 2020. A graduate of St. John Fisher University, he finds inspiration in the underdogs and the fascinating stories sports can tell (both the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat). John expertly covers all aspects of NASCAR. Beginning with his 2014 coverage at Fox Sports of the aftermath of the dirt-race tragedy in which Kevin Ward Jr. died after being struck by a car driven by NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart, John has excelled as a journalist who specializes in the motorsports world. He previously spent more than three decades covering high school sports and worked as a beat writer covering Big East football and basketball, but NASCAR is now where the true expertise falls. John is a member of the New York State Basketball Hall of Fame (2013), the President of the New York State Sportswriters Association, and a two-time Best of Gannett winner for print and online collaborations whose work has appeared on FoxSports.com and MaxPreps.com.
Get to know John Moriello betterPublished31 Aug 2020
Let’s be honest and admit that there are days when social media is an intellectual cesspool, redeemed only by video clips of adorable kittens, puppies, and bunnies. Luckily for sports fans, there’s news about an impending improvement to social media: Vin Scully is coming to Twitter and Instagram.
That’s bound to improve the medium by leaps and bounds.
Vin Scully is on the shortlist of great announcers
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Vin Scully became synonymous with Los Angeles Dodgers baseball long before he retired in 2016 at the age of 88. In fact, his 67-year career broadcasting games on television and radio began while the franchise was still located in Brooklyn.
However, it was never the quantity Scully’s work that made fans regard him as one of baseball’s treasurers. Rather it was the quality of his work on the air with the Dodgers and as a network play-by-play man that made Scully a must-listen.
His restrained style – not every home run is on a par with a Kirk Gibson walk-off in the World Series – and lyrical storytelling set Scully apart as he called games in a sport consisting of brief moments of action spread out over three hours.
Mel Allen, Red Barber, and Jack Buck shined as his contemporaries. But Scully made the lasting impression on current fans as the sport transitioned from radio to television.
His greatness transcends the broadcast booth. As noted by USA Today, a Los Angeles Times reader poll this spring tabbed Scully as the city’s No. 1 sports icon. That’s heady stuff for a city graced by the presence of Sandy Koufax, Eric Dickerson, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Wayne Gretzky.
Vin Scully simply could not stay retired
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Vin Scully had lost nothing off his broadcasting fastball at the time of his retirement at the age of 88, so many baseball fans had to feel a sense of loss when he signed off in 2016. Consistent with his understated style on the air, Scully has kept a low profile the past few years.
However, that will be changing on Sept. 2, USA Today reported. That’s when the first-ever Vin Scully social media accounts will go line. Fans have already started following him on Twitter (@TheVinScully) and Instagram (@TheVinScully). A YouTube channel should debut next week, and the newspaper reported that a Facebook account will arrive in October.
“I was a fan before I was a broadcaster, and I want to see and hear and engage with people,” Scully said.
While Scully’s posts will likely be heavy on observations and anecdotes about the Los Angeles Dodgers, it’s likely that he has been keeping up on baseball in general and will be comfortable sharing broader thoughts. Other sports would also seemingly be fair game.
He’s too savvy to make the common rookie mistake
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Social media has some shortcomings. Besides its ability to spread falsehoods worldwide in a matter of seconds, Twitter and Facebook allow everyone to have an opinion about how awful the other guy’s opinion happens to be. Sustained intelligent conversations about the president of the United States and the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys are equally difficult to find.
Social media newcomer Vin Scully vows not to be sucked into the abyss.
“I will not use Twitter for any controversy in any shape or form,” Scully told the newspaper. “I’ll be very, very careful what goes out. It’s too volatile of a world. I don’t want anyone mistaking what I originally meant. I won’t get into any arguments, but if I feel necessary to chime in, I’ll do it.”
