Vin Scully Isn't A Fan Of Ryan Howard
Vin Scully is a baseball legend, period. He's someone who, even if you hate the Dodgers, you respect. The man has been a part of the Los Angeles Dodger organization since 1950. When he first became a part of the team they played home games in Brooklyn with Jackie Robinson.
Nowadays Scully doesn't travel with the team as much because of his age (88 years old) but he was at Dodger Stadium to call a game between the Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants on Friday night. The Dodgers won the game 7-3 but that isn't the story.
Whether it's Hank Aaron, Willie Mays or Mickey Mantle, Scully has seen them play and can tell you a story about it. One of those Hall of Fame players Scully can tell you a story about is Joe DiMaggio. DiMaggio played for the New York Yankees from 1936-1951. He was an All-Star in all 13 years he played (he took three years off for military service) and is considered one of the greatest players in the history of baseball.
At some point on Friday night word got to Scully that Ryan Howard of the Philadelphia Phillies tied DiMaggio for home runs in a career with 361. Now, Howard is a rookie of the year, an MVP and a World Series champion. He's a very accomplished player and at least deserves consideration for the Hall of Fame.
However, if you ask Scully, Howard isn't anywhere near the player that DiMaggio was.
Scully isn't wrong. In 2007 and 2008 Howard led the league in strikeouts with 199 each year. If you only take those two years Howard has more strikeouts (398) than DiMaggio had in his entire career (369). Poor Howard. The man tied a legend in a pretty impressive category and before he gets a chance to go to bed that night he's taken out by one of the most legendary people in the history of baseball.
