Watchdog

I spoke to Ralph Branca Tuesday night before he introduced Vin Scully for his Lifetime Achievement Award from Fordham's WFUV.

Branca was very close with Scully when the former was a Dodger and the latter was a very young Dodgers broadcaster in the early 1950s.

"It keeps him young; it's something that’s very important in his life, a major part of his life," Branca said of Scully still working after all these years.

"For him, it's easy. He's so glib and he’s got such a great voice and he knows the game. And he really doesn’t need a color man. He doesn’t need a baseball player to talk about the game. He knows enough about it so he can do it all alone."

Branca said even in Scully's early years, the players respected his knowledge and skill in the booth.

"They knew Red Barber was tops and Connie Demond was very good and they brought Vinny along and had a top crew. They even had Ernie Harwell as part of that crew. Mel Allen was with the Yankees, a different kind of announcer, more of a rooter. These guys were like reporters; they reported the game rather than root."

Branca said he usually turns down the sound when he watches games these days, but when he sees a Dodgers game with Scully on his out-of-market TV package, he turns it up.

I also spoke to Branca after the premiere of ESPN's "Zen of Bobby V" Sunday.

Branca liked it, but he's biased. Valentine is his son-in-law.