Every year, the baseball world loses part of its history as legends grow old and pass away. And seemingly every year, the Dodgers are hit by that sadness. In 2019, it was Don Newcombe and Bill Buckner. In 2020, we lost Sweet Lou Johnson, Jay Johnstone, Rob Perranoski, and Jim Wynn. Last year, it was Don Sutton, Tommy Lasorda, Stan Williams, Norm Sherry, Don Demeter, and (pitcher) Mike Marshall, among others.
In 2022, we've lost three key parts of Dodgers history, as Will Leitch notes at MLB.com.
Tommy Davis (1939). A two-time batting champ (he hit .346 in 1962, a year in which he also had 153 RBIs), he won a World Series with the Dodgers in 1963. Davis, who initially signed with the Dodgers rather than the Yankees on the advice of Jackie Robinson, was famously well-traveled in his career, once playing on 10 teams in 10 seasons.
Maury Wills (1932). The man who brought the stolen base back, Wills won the 1962 MVP largely because of his 104 stolen bases, which broke Ty Cobb’s then-record of 96. This was after an inauspicious start to his career in which he was asked to take over for Pee Wee Reese as Dodgers shortstop. He would make seven All-Star teams and win three World Series with the Dodgers. Wills also took the first-ever at-bat for the Montreal Expos.
Vin Scully (1927). The first Dodgers game Vin Scully ever broadcast in 1950 featured future Hall of Famers Jackie Robinson, Pee Wee Reese, Duke Snider and Richie Ashburn. The last game he ever broadcast featured Buster Posey, Corey Seager and Justin Turner. In between was most of baseball history, with Scully right there in the middle of all of it -- the narrator, soundtrack and soul of the national pastime. “Hi, everybody and a very pleasant good evening to you, wherever you may be.”
Three Dodgers legends gone in one year. Vin probably hurts the most, in part because he was still calling games just six years ago and in part because he's the undisputed best ever to do what he did.
Rest in peace to these Dodgers legends, and may 2023 leave us alone.
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