GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Baseball fans are going to miss hearing Vin Scully. As the broadcaster begins his 67th season as the voice of the Dodgers, he knows he's going to miss hearing them, too.
The Hall of Fame broadcaster took time to reflect on his career Friday before working a spring training game against the San Francisco Giants — his only spring game this year.
He remembered Kirk Gibson's home run against the Oakland A's in the Dodgers' last World Series championship in 1988. He remembered broadcasting Henry Aaron's record-breaking home run, No. 715, against the Dodgers in a 1974 game in Atlanta.
Mostly, though, Scully remembered the fans and what he heard from them.
"I'll miss the sounds," the 88-year-old Scully said.
He knew he wanted to be broadcaster when he listened to college football games while he was growing up in New York.
"The crowd noise would wash over me like water over a shower," he said. "I used to get ecstatic over that roar.
"Later, I'd wish I was there. Then, I'd think I'd like to be calling the game. To this day, if there is a very good play in the ballpark and the crowd lets out a roar, I shut up. During that time, I'm 8 years old with my head under the radio. ... When this is over, that will be the first thing I miss."
In his farewell season, Scully will hear it again, this time from generations of Dodgers fans showing appreciation for Scully's work behind the mic.
Scully plans to work opening day on April 4 at San Diego and all 81 home games at Dodger Stadium. He also plans to work two games against the Angels in Anaheim on May 18-19 and a three-game, season-closing series at San Francisco on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1-2.
Scully's final year coincides with an ongoing stalemate over broadcast rights to Dodgers games. The Dodgers and Time Warner Cable are asking DirectTV to carry games this season, citing the campaign as an historic one with Scully approaching retirement.
"It's kind of embarrassing," Scully said. "I'd like to see the fans get the chance see every game. That's what I'm pulling for."
