Farewell, Scooter

When I grew up in New Jersey in the 1980s, the Yankees were still on free TV. All I remember from those games are some really bad teams and some hilarious comments by Rizzuto, who was probably approaching senility at that time. But although he would spend entire innings ignoring the game while talking about his wife Cora's manicotti recipes, you bizarrely kept watching and listening. I didn't have an older brother so Scooter was the weird but nice old guy down the street who introduced me to baseball.

Here's some other weird facts I remember. He always called his co-announcers by their last names: "Hey White! Hey Murcer! Hey Seaver!" Anytime a rookie came up, he always called "The Kid" for the first couple of months until he distinguished himself. And he would always leave after the seventh inning stretch during a home game. Later I found out this was because he wanted to beat the traffic home back to Jersey. It didn't matter if it was an important game or a blowout.

I saw the Scooter once. A friend and I were walking by his house and he was just standing in the driveway. We yelled, "Hey Scooter!" He smiled and waved. I didn't even think of shaking his hand or anything. I was struck by how small he was. Naturally I never saw him play, but I've been reading the tributes and knew about his bunting DiMaggio home during a botched squeeze play and his defense. Is it true Ted Williams said if Scooter had been on the Red Sox they would have won something? That's gotta hurt Johnny Pesky.

The last game I remember Scooter calling was when I was home sometime in the mid 1990s. He was rambling even more than ever. After a commercial, they showed a live shot of the George Washington Bridge and the Hudson. Scooter said, "Boy, look at that beautiful shot of the Atlantic Ocean."

His partner (maybe Mercer) said, "Phil, that's the Hudson River."

"Oh gee, is it the Hudson River? Well, how about that," said Scooter. He seemed oblivious that he failed to recognize the bridge and river he had driven over every day for the last 40+ years. But nobody cared. A fitting finale.

More Info:
The Day Phil Rizzuto Got a Holy Cow
A Few Phil Rizzuto Quotes and Jokes
O Holy Cow: The Poetry of Phil Rizzuto