I’m old enough to remember when the vast majority of baseball games weren’t televised. If you were a real fan, you listened to them on the radio; the local announcers were effectively members of your extended family. They were important to you, and to the community.
I didn’t grow up in LA, so I only knew Vin Scully from his work on TV, but even from that limited sample, I can tell you that he was the best. He will be missed, and not just by Dodger fans.
In a somewhat similar vein, I only have vague memories of Bill Russell as a basketball player. I remember him more as an announcer. He was a man of immense intelligence and dignity, but what made him stand out more than anything else was the way he laughed–a sort of raucous cackle. He will be missed, too.