This time of year is difficult for my productivity. With baseball in full-swing, I forfeit about 20 hours a week watching Dodgers games on TV. As much as I love rooting for the boys in blue, it’s the sound of Vin Scully’s voice that makes watching a game from my couch so enjoyable. Scully—Mister L.A. and the greatest sportscaster of all time—doesn’t just have a smooth, soothing voice, but he infuses the game with such rich detail about each batter and pitcher that I often feel like I’ve read a series of player bios after the last out is made.
Last week, for example, while Dodgers were sweeping the Mets, I learned that New York left fielder Fernando Tatis, who in 1999 hit two grand slams off Chan Ho Park in the same inning (!), had tired of professional baseball and, after the 2003 season, stepped away from the game. God brought him back in 2006—or better yet, the desire to serve God.
His entire community in the Dominican Republic wanted to build a church, in fact, and if Tatis signed a Major League contract, he would have the money to do so. The problem was, no team particularly wanted an aging infielder with seemingly little to give.
But Tatis wanted to build a church, and so he told his family that he was going to return to the Major Leagues. This happened roughly a week before the phone rang.
It was the Orioles. They were interested. And now?
“The church is built,” Tatis said. “It’s beautiful, and we got it.”
Tatis played one mediocre portion of the 2006 season with the Orioles before spending another year out of the Majors and hooking on with the Mets this spring. That was a part-time gig until Monday, when manager Jerry Manuel deemed Tatis his regular left fielder for the indefinite future.
You can read more about Tatis’ comeback here.
To hear Scully call the ninth inning of Sandy Koufax’s first no-hitter, click here. Or just turn your TV to FSN Prime Ticket. The Dodgers final game against the Rockies starts in a few minutes.
