Retired Los Angeles Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully won the 2016 Best Call TV/Radio Esurance MLB Award for Charlie Culberson’s walk-off home run on Sept. 25 against the Colorado Rockies that clinched the National League West. The play was the last Scully called at Dodger Stadium.
Calls for Tyler Naquin’s walk-off inside-the-park home run, Bartolo Colon’s first career home run, Max Scherzer’s 20-strikeout game, and Yangervis Solarte returning from the stands with a cheese-covered baseball were finalists for the Esurance Award.
The Dodgers entered the finale of a three-game series with an opportunity to win the NL West by defeating the Rockies, or by virtue of the San Francisco Giants losing to the San Diego Padres.
Play at Dodger Stadium got underway 30 minutes prior to first pitch at Petco Park, but both games wound up advancing at nearly the same pace.
The Dodgers battled back from a 2-0 deficit to tie the game in the seventh inning, only for David Dahl to hit a letter-high pitch off Kenley Jansen for a go-ahead, solo home run in the ninth.
Corey Seager, the eventual unanimous selection for NL Rookie of the Year, tied the game in the bottom of the inning with a home run of his own. That helped set the stage for Culberson’s walk-off home run, which came moments before the Padres wrapped up their win.
“The Dodgers have clinched the division and will celebrate on schedule,” Scully said. Last year he won the Esurance Best Call TV Award for the Dodgers’ walk-off win on a balk. The in-game announcement to reveal Scully’s intention return for the 2016 won for Best Video Board Moment.
Scully was recently named among the 21 recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which is the highest honor President Barack Obama can bestow on a civilian.
