Fans blue over loss of Dodgers on radio

One e-mail was followed by five. Same with voice messages. It has been a small but steady flow of complaints since the first major league pitch was thrown this season.

There are local baseball fans upset about not hearing Los Angeles Dodgers games on radio this year, people as displeased as 51s manager Mike Basso is with his team’s record. (Well, not that annoyed.)

But it’s a legitimate grievance. You sort of get used to something that hangs around in a public forum more than four decades, unless it’s Joan Rivers. Then you sort of want to scratch your eyes out with a kitchen knife.

You sort of get used to turning a radio dial in Southern Nevada and hearing the genius of Vin Scully.

Now, you turn the dial and get the Jonas Brothers.

KSFN-AM (1140) carried the Dodgers locally since 2001 but changed its call letters to KYDZ in March and its format to kids radio. Makes sense.

I know from personal experience that in many households (or at least one) even Scully struggles gaining a majority vote over that girl from “iCarly.” Believe me, it’s a harsh battle to lose.

It’s true the Dodgers have forever been one of those love-hate teams. There is no middle ground between devotion and detestation. They exist under the same national spotlight of both worship and scorn as the New York Yankees and Dallas Cowboys and Notre Dame football.

But in not hearing the Dodgers locally, many have lost a bond that only baseball and radio can create. One that, while perhaps shoved aside by most in a world of Internet and HDTV, still resonates with those who while growing up would fall asleep to the sound of their favorite broadcaster calling games.

For me, it was Scully and those who carried his bags nightly — Ross Porter, the guy who could give you in-depth statistical analysis on everything from a player’s slugging percentage to how many hairs stuck to his cap on East Coast night games in May as opposed to July; and the late Jerry Doggett, bless his soul, whose sometimes bizarre calls and slurred speech from the sixth inning on made you wonder what beverage he was mixing with those Dodger dogs.

“More than any sport, the bond between a baseball broadcaster and the audience is endearing,” 51s play-by-play voice Russ Langer said. “There is a comfort level there, like the old shoe. A familiarity. It is why you see such an outpouring of sympathy and tributes with the passing of a Jack Buck or a Harry Kalas.

“As much as anyone hates to say it, one day there won’t be a Vin Scully, the greatest broadcaster of all time. Anyone who is upset the Dodgers aren’t on in Las Vegas … it all starts with that bond.”

Radio is like most businesses today, which is to say those in charge spend most waking moments searching for ways to slice budgets and save cash.

More and more, programming decisions are being taken away from local markets in an effort to cut costs. Syndication is a popular word for those in charge.

But there is a glimmer of hope for all those Southern California transplants and Dodgers fans living in Las Vegas and missing the chance to drive home from work or a child’s Little League game and hear Scully describe the game he is viewing while elegantly spinning human interest tales like no one who ever called games.

The local ESPN Radio affiliate, KWWN-AM (1100), is close to finalizing an agreement to air one Dodgers game weekly and perhaps a few more on another Lotus station. It’s a start.

“With our network contracts, that’s all we could really do right now,” said Mitch Moss, program director at KWWN. “To be honest, we haven’t received many complaints. But the fact some people (are upset) doesn’t surprise me, given the Dodgers have been on in town for so long.”

Said Lauryn Lukin, vice president of broadcasting for the Dodgers: “Ideally, we want all of our games on in the Las Vegas market. We’re not giving up on that. We’ll continue looking for opportunities to make that happen. But for now, one game a week is better than none.”

There are always video and audio feeds from mlb.com, of course. But you pay for those. You can watch most Dodgers games on Prime Ticket locally.

Radio is different, though. It’s a link to the past for most. It’s how we first fell in love with the game and those who call it.

Love the Dodgers. Hate them. Doesn’t really matter.

It’s not about that. Major league baseball and radio have been joined for nearly 90 years. Each time a town loses a long-standing tradition like the Dodgers in Las Vegas, one of those priceless links fades away.

You can’t find good in that.

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ed Graney can be reached at 383-4618 or egraney@reviewjournal.com.