"It may sound corny, but I enjoyed listening to Vin Scully call a game almost more than playing in them,'' Sandy Koufax once said. He's not alone in that regard. Scully was a year out of Fordham University when he broke into broadcasting in 1950, sharing a seat in the booth with Connie Desmond and the great Red Barber. Over the next 58 years, he was linked to a slew of Dodger memories. Scully broadcast 18 no-hitters and perfect games by Don Larsen, Koufax and Dennis Martinez. He was around for the record scoreless streaks by Don Drysdale and Orel Hershiser, Kirk Gibson's World Series home run, Hank Aaron's 715th homer and the amazing rookie seasons by Fernando Valenzuela and Hideo Nomo. Scully was named the Most Memorable Personality in Dodgers history in a fan poll in 1976, and the ensuing three decades served to enhance his stature. Red Barber would be proud.

Vin Scully isn't only the face of the Dodgers, he's a SoCal icon and a baseball treasure. Generations of Dodgers fans -- first in Brooklyn and then in Los Angeles -- have been taught the beauty of baseball through the vivid descriptions and fascinating storytelling of Scully, who is in his 58th season as the voice of the franchise. Curt Smith, in his book, "Voices of Summer," named Scully as baseball's all-time best broadcaster based on "longevity, continuity, network coverage, kudos, language, popularity, persona, voice knowledge and miscellany." He has broadcast all six Dodgers world championships, 18 no-hitters and three perfect games, as well as Henry Aaron's record-breaking 715th home run. Scully was inducted into Baseball's Hall of Fame in 1984 and had his star placed on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1982. The Dodger Stadium press box was named after Scully in 2001.

Amazingly, you still don't see Russell Martin at the center of any team marketing campaigns, despite the fact that he is young, good-looking, homegrown, the team's most productive player, a catcher for an organization with an esteemed tradition at that position, a great guy and he has a middle name of Coltrane, for crying out loud. For most of the year, he has led or nearly led the Dodgers in on-base percentage and slugging percentage while catching almost around 90 percent of the team's innings. The pitchers love him; the fans love him. An All-Star appearance should seal the deal for Martin becoming the team's face. Of course, Vin Scully is the Dodgers' most beloved personality, but now that Scully mainly broadcasts on television, he's the best reason to stay home from the games, not go to them. Let's go with Martin.

The Dodgers have one of the preeminent voices in broadcasting doing their games every night. Vin Scully doesn't broadcast games, he narrates them and one of the first questions I get from people when they find out I played for the Dodgers is if I ever got to meet Vin. He represents this organization with great class and earns the right to be the only play by play guy on my list.