Debuts: Scully spans from Mantle to Harper

Just saw an amazing tweet from Keith Olbermann. He writes:

Mickey Mantle debuted in NY in an exhibition vs #Dodgers, 1951. Bryce Harper debuts vs Dodgers tonight. Announcer then and now? Vin Scully

Think about it this way: Scully called games involving the most celebrated rookie of my father’s generation. And now he is calling games involving the most celebrated rookie of my sons’ generation.

Scully once said:

All my career, all I have ever really done, all I ever have accomplished, is to talk about the accomplishments of others. We can’t all be heroes. Somebody has to stand on the curb and applaud as the parade goes by.

Of course, Scully has it wrong. Sixty-one years since Mantle’s debut, Scully is a certified hero. We’re so fortunate to still hear him “applaud as the parade goes by” as only he could.