To public knowledge, Vin Scully has visited Dodger Stadium three times since retiring as voice of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The first was for Game 5 of the 2016 National League Championship Series against the Chicago Cubs.
The most recent came Wednesday, when Scully was inducted into the Dodgers Ring of Honor. He became the 11th member, joining eight former players and two former managers. Remarkably, Scully at one point called games each of his fellow inductees were part of.
Scully spoke with media prior to the pregame ceremony, and his retirement was among the topics discussed. “It’s easier than I thought,” Scully began to explain of his new life.
“Because I’m totally and completely at peace. It’s a remarkable feeling. You get to where I am, I’ll be 90 in November, so I’m not a boy of summer anymore.
“I’ve spent so many thousands of yesterdays but you get to an age where you say, ‘Yeah, but how many tomorrows?’ If somebody said to you, ‘You’re going to have 123 tomorrows as of today,’ the first thing you would say is, ‘Whoa, they’re precious. I want to be with the most precious part of my life.’ That’s where I am. Whatever number of tomorrows I have, I’m spending the todays exactly the way I wanted to.”
One unexpected development for the Hall-of-Fame broadcaster has been the inability to read as much as planned. Scully said he hardly advances beyond the foreword of books, because his wife, Sandi, has kept the couple active.
Scully hasn’t watched much, if any, of the Dodgers, but the team is never far from his thoughts. He’s excited by Cody Bellinger’s performance thus far. “I read the accounts of the game every morning in the newspaper, so I’m reasonably well aware,” Scully said.
“I follow what’s going on. I did it for 67 years, it’s pretty hard to just turn it off. However, every minute that I look at Sandi in the house, I know I’m at the right spot in my life. It’s the right time and the right place.”
Considering he much prefers to move in the shadows, free of adoration no matter how much it’s deserved, Scully surmised he’ll at one point take in a game at Dodger Stadium. “I plan to be here at times, and no one will know,” he said.
“Sandi and I will come in, and then we’ll leave, and that will be that.” But for now, he’ll continue to enjoy life as a retiree, soaking in the Southern California weather.
“I like sitting in the backyard,” Scully said. “Sipping on something cold around 5 o’clock instead of being [at Dodger Stadium] going over my ad-libs.”
