WASHINGTON (AP) — On Monday, the Dodgers will play their first opening day since 1950 without Vin Scully calling their games. He won’t be in the stands. He won’t make a point of watching on TV, either.
“It’s a day game. I’ll probably have things to do,” the famed 89-year-old announcer told The Associated Press from his home in Hidden Hills, California. “I might catch a piece of it.”
Not that Scully has any regrets since retiring after last season. He says he’s grateful for every minute he spent with the Dodgers, the franchise he joined 67 years ago in Brooklyn and followed to Los Angeles eight years later. He feels blessed to have worked as long as he did covering the game he fell in love with as a boy.
But he’s learned that after a lifetime in the broadcast booth, watching a game as a fan holds little appeal.
“During the World Series back around ’77 or ’78, there was a game at Dodger Stadium with the Yankees, and I went to the game as a spectator. Now, I hadn’t been as a spectator in a long, long time, and I felt somewhat restless that I wasn’t broadcasting,” Scully recalled Tuesday.
“I did not have the challenge of trying to describe, accurately and quickly, the way it should be done. I just sat there, and I was not happy, I’ll be honest. So I realized that although I love the game, what I loved more was broadcasting it,” he said.
Scully spoke to the AP because the Library of Congress has announced it will preserve his call of a 1957 game between the Dodgers and the New York Giants at the Polo Grounds, the final time they played at the hallowed old stadium. Both teams moved to California after that season, opening up the West Coast to Major League Baseball.
Scully’s call of Sandy Koufax’s 1965 perfect game is more famous. But that game at the Polo Grounds meant more to him personally, because he grew up going to games there, cheering for the Giants and dreaming of watching from the press box.
“It was so meaningful to me. I’m not sure what it really means to baseball fans anymore,” Scully said. “The sands of time have washed over the Polo Grounds. But for me, it was one of the more memorable games I was ever involved in.”
During that broadcast, Scully implored the players to take their time before there franchises left town: “Let’s take it easy, we just want to take one last lingering look at both of you.” The Library of Congress called it “a masterful example of the artistry that great sports announcers bring to their work, as well as their empathy for players and fans.”
Six decades later, Scully is having an easier time letting go. So no plans to keep track Monday when Los Angeles plays the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium.
“All summer long, I expect to get feelings of nostalgia, wistfulness, whatever the word may be, but no, I am comfortable, I do know in my heart and soul I am where I should be, and that really is all I need,” he said.
“Sure, after 67 years, you’ll bet I’ll miss it,” he added. “But heck, I miss the guys I hung out with when I was in school.”
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Follow Ben Nuckols on Twitter at https://twitter.com/APBenNuckols .
