With the regular season schedule winding down, particularly the Los Angeles Dodgers’ home slate, the sad reality of this being Vin Scully’s final year broadcasting is truly beginning to set in.
Several players from opposing teams have visited Vin Scully in the broadcast booth to have one final conversation and their photograph taken with the famed voice of the Dodgers. Most recently, that included Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon and catcher David Ross bringing Scully mementos from Wrigley Field.
For all that Scully has been witness to, this season has been unlike any other. The Dodgers tied a single-season Major League record with 27 different players put on the disabled list.
That’s forced the club to tap into their organizational depth, which in turn has led to multiple players making their respective MLB debut.
Jose De Leon joins the group on Sunday after a strong campaign with Triple-A Oklahoma City.
De Leon’s debut comes with additional meaning as he hoped to reach the Majors in time for Scully to call his start, via Bill Plunkett of the OC Register:
“I wanted to be here this year because I wanted Vin Scully to call my game,” De Leon said Saturday.
De Leon went 7-1 with a 2.61 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 111 strikeouts over 16 games. He finished with a flurry, putting together three consecutive starts with at least 10 strikeouts.
Overall the right-hander had five double-digit strikeout games, becoming the first Oklahoma City pitcher in the Pacific Coast League era to have five such starts in a single season.
