LOS ANGELES — Recently, Amani Martin found himself explaining NFTs to — of all people — Vin Scully.
Martin, the manager of Vin Scully Digital, already helps run Twitter and Instagram accounts for the 93-year old broadcasting icon. NFTs, though, are another level of digital savvy. Scully had no idea what they were.
For those who might not know, NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are best explained as a digital collectible. The difference between an NFT and a physical collectible such as a baseball card is that, using blockchain technology, users can verify the authenticity and rarity of an NFT. In essence, that's the analogy Martin used.
"Amani explained they were digital collectibles, like a computerized version of a physical trading card, and that each was unique," Scully said in an email. "He likened it to the deed I have for my house where it's recorded on a ledger as proof of ownership."
"So he got that right away," Martin said.
The endpoint of that understanding — three NFTs to which Scully lent his name and voice — is being released Tuesday. Two of the NFTs, of which 255 and 140 are being released for $33 and $88, respectively, feature Scully telling the stories of two Dodgers World Series memories: Sandy Amorós' running catch in Game 7 of the 1955 Series and Kirk Gibson's home run in Game 1 of the 1988 Series.
The third NFT, of which only one is being released at auction, features Scully narrating his personal story of getting into radio, and comes with an autographed baseball, merchandise and two VIP Dodgers tickets with Dennis Gilbert, a friend of Scully's and former agent.
"I like the idea of creating something where I could be remembered by baseball fans and Dodger fans," Scully said. "Sure, there might be a little money in it, but more importantly, it was really about creating nice mementos accessible to fans. And NFTs seemed like a great way to do that."
The NFTs will be released on Bitski, a platform chosen for its accessibility to people unfamiliar with blockchain.
"Once [Scully] understood it as a way to have a connection with his fans, to tell stories to his fans in a way that we've done on his Twitter and [Instagram], then I think he got it right away," Martin said. "It was something that, they were both ones that can be made available at a low price, one at a little bit more of a premium. And then kind of a one special one, he liked the idea that he would be accessible to both bands."
Scully recorded the voiceovers for all three at his home, without a script.
"He preps for it," Martin said. "He obviously knows that there's a particular angle he wants to choose. But it's not scripted, it's just telling the story."
