Vin
Scully, entering his 63rd season as the Dodgers' broadcaster, said he plans to ease his
workload a bit more this year by no longer calling games in Colorado.
Scully, 84, will broadcast all home games and road games only in California and
Arizona, which means he'll still announce more than 100 games this season
televised on Prime Ticket and KCAL Channel 9 in Southern California.
"No big, earth-shattering reason, just to cut back a little more on the
traveling," Scully told reporters Saturday night before calling the
Dodgers' Cactus League game against the San Francisco Giants at Camelback Ranch, his first visit
to the Dodgers' spring home this season.
The Hall of Fame announcer already had pared his travel schedule in recent
years to the Dodgers' 81 home games at Dodger Stadium and cities mostly west of
the Rocky Mountains.
This year, he also plans to skip an interleague series the Dodgers play in
Seattle against the Mariners on June
8-10.
"I remember telling [Dodgers owner] Frank
McCourt years ago, I said, 'Frank, I would like to disappear like the
Cheshire Cat, all of a sudden the only thing left is his smile,' " Scully
said. "So this is just another disappearing act."
Eric Collins and Steve Lyons again will broadcast the
Dodgers' other road games that are not nationally televised.
Asked why he was announcing a couple of spring-training games, Scully said,
"It's as simple as this: The last baseball game I did was Sept. 28, and 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
kind of get the feel of them again. It's batting practice for me."
Scully also said he did not expect the Dodgers' planned ownership change this
year to affect the team's performance.
"The things that happen in the front office, I don't believe have any
effect whatsoever on the players or on us," he said. "It's like on a
ship. We're down there shoveling coal and the big discussion is up on the
bridge. I can't see any change in ownership have any effect at all."
