Vin Scully's one fault: He didn't like Sandy Koufax's Dodgers tryout because he was too tan
Vin Scully is great at many things. Announcing baseball games, for one. Presenting histories of things like beards that the history books have ignored. Being worthy of an actual street.
For all his strengths though, there is one thing he doesn't appear to have the talents for: Scouting. With Sandy Koufax in attendance on Saturday during the Rockies-Dodgers game, Scully told the tale of seeing the future Dodger great for the first time.
Watching the left-hander during his tryout with the Dodgers, Scully said:
"I went down to the clubhouse. I walked in and I saw the fella who was going to try out. My first thought was 'No chance.' The reason I said no chance was because he had a suntan. I don't mean the so-called 'truck driver's suntan,' where only your forearms are tan because you're wearing a uniform. No-no, he was completely tan. I thought 'He spent all his time on the beach, not playing baseball."
He wasn't swayed after watching him work in the bullpen. Thinking that his fastball and curve weren't much better than the pitches Scully had seen in his amateur career, he thought, "Well, he's just a fella who they're taking a look at. He spends his time at the beach. And that'll be that and I'll probably never see him again."
Fortunately, Scully wasn't a scout for the Dodgers, otherwise the greatest pitcher in Dodgers history may never have made the team. And Scully never would have called his perfect game.