Legendary broadcaster Vin Scully will announce his 63rd season of Dodgers baseball in 2012, but his schedule will be just a tad lighter. The Hall of Famer will call all Dodgers home games and all their road games in California and Arizona. That represents a slight reduction from last season, as Scully will no longer call games in Colorado.
"It was no big Earth-shattering reason, just to cut back a little bit more on the traveling," Scully said on Saturday. "I remember telling Frank McCourt years ago, 'I would like to disappear like the Cheshire Cat, all of a sudden the only thing left is a smile.' That's just another disappearing act."
Scully is in Glendale, Arizona to call two Dodgers spring training games, Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. Scully originally wan't going to call any Cactus League games, but changed his mind.
"The last baseball game I did was September 28. I thought, my gosh, all these highly talented players, they have to come here and practice for a month to get ready. I want to do a couple of games just to get the feel for it again," on his decision to come to Arizona for spring training. "It's batting practice for me really."
Scully believes the pending Dodgers ownership change, expected to be completed by April 30, will not have much of an affect on the players.
"The things that happen in the front office I don't believe have any affect whatsoever on the players or on us," Scully said. "It's like on a ship, we're down here shoveling coal and the big discussion is up on the bridge with the captain. It's the same thing; we're not involved with them so I can't see any change in ownership having any affect at all."
Be sure to read True Blue LA for more reaction to Vin Scully and the Dodgers.