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RADIO & TV CALLS:
1980 to 1981

Here are a handful of my favorite calls from the 1977 to 1981 seasons.  On some occasions, you can hear my prepubescent voice awkwardly setting up the action.  Other calls are taken from other sources.

1980 Recordings (Part 2)

Manny Being Mota: On October 5, Manny Mota collected his last base hit as a Dodger, and it was huge.  His 7th-inning RBI single closed the deficit against the Astros in to 3-2 in Game 162, setting the stage for Ron Cey in the next inning....

Vintage Vin: Vin's call of Jay Johnstone's game-tying 9th inning homer on Aug. 1 is textbook, right down to the 50 seconds of uninterrupted crowd noise afterwards. His call of Baker's subsequent double makes your pulse race even more.  The Dodgers would win in the 10th on a home run by Joe Ferguson in a foreshadow of Game 160 against the Astros.
Killer Penguin: Given the stakes, this 8th inning at-bat was Gibsonesque, 7 years before Gibson. Cey was questionable for the game, almost knocked himself out with a fouled-off ball, then fouled off countless 2-strike pitches. The end result is storybook.  As with the Mota hit, Jerry Doggett with the call.
We Got a Playoff!!!  So says the underappreciated Ross Porter on this final out on the final game of the season to force a one-game playoff against the Astros.  Yes, that's Don Sutton pitching in relief, hoping to close it out with runners on first and third and a 1-run lead.

1981 Recordings

Fernandomania Unleashed: With a playoff-type atmosphere, it's hard to believe this is only an April 27 game at the Stadium.  But in capturing the last out of El Toro's third shutout in only four starts, the sheer "fandemonium" is palpable through Vin's equally flawless execution.
It's Gone, Fernando, It's Gone!: May 24 at home.  Quite possibly my favorite Scully call of all time, both for Vin's "dedication" and the stakes (Fernie looking to go 8-0).  Here, my 15-year-old voice sets up the Hawk's crushing homer that broke Fernando's spell... and Guerrero's quick redemption that reclaimed it.
El Toro Strikes Back: On May 28, Fernando was hit hard by the Braves for his second major league loss, dropping him to 8-2.  But he came back strong in a rematch with Atlanta just four days later, striking out 11.  Vin with a classic call to close out the fourth inning.
Blue Monday: So-named in Montreal, of course, where Rick Monday hit a two-out, 9th inning homer in the deciding NLCS game that catapulted the Dodgers into the World Series.  Rick, I argue, is the unsung hero of the Dodgers' entire 1981 season.  He also had the series-clinching RBI in the Division Series, prior to this.
Fernando's Finest: Game 3 of the 1981 World Series was, in Vin's words, possibly the worst game he had ever seen Valenzuela pitch.  But Lasorda stuck with his ace in this now-legendary 147-pitch outing.  Here's the last out as called by Vin.
Home Run to Bakersfield: Long before Mannywood, there was Bakersfield.  Jerry Doggett calls this home run by Dusty Baker into the left-field bleachers on May 19.
KTTV Channel 11 Dodger Intro: Here's what it sounded like to tune in a Dodger road game on TV in 1981, with Vin trotting out his signature catch phrases.  (RIP Western Airlines and Datsun.) 
Split infinitives and dangling hyphens: In this May 20 game against Steve Carlton, Tommy Lasorda is in rare form -- and so is Vin, creatively describing what Tommy is saying without really saying it.  Luckily, Pete puts a happy exclamation point on the proceedings.