LA’s Jarrin reflects on 58 seasons in booth

SAN DIEGO — With the retirement of Vin Scully on Sunday, the title of longest-tenured broadcaster in baseball passes from one Dodger to another.

Jaime Jarrin, a Hall of Famer whose stylish voice and keen insight has taught baseball to generations of Spanish-speaking Dodgers fans, is finishing up his 58th season at the microphone. He intends to fulfill the final two seasons of his contract, and maybe more.

“The ceremony the other night [honoring Scully at Dodger Stadium] gave me a chance to think how fortunate I’ve been to do what I love to do this long,” said Jarrin, 80. “My longevity is because I love the game, and my wife, Blanca, has supported me. Vin has been so good to me, so close to me. He helped me so much. I will complete 60 years and then I will see. After that, maybe I take some trips off, as long as Blanca says it’s OK. I never thought it would last this long. Never.”

In the 2005 book, “Voices of Summer,” the trailblazing Jarrin was named baseball’s all-time best Spanish-language broadcaster based on “longevity, continuity, network coverage, kudos, language, popularity, persona, voice, knowledge and miscellany.”

Jarrin’s legacy was cemented by his role as interpreter during Fernandomania. Fernando Valenzuela’s sensational rookie season in 1981 not only broadened baseball’s reach into his …

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