Retired Los Angeles Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully was added to Dodger Stadium’s Ring of Honor Wednesday before the team’s game against the San Francisco Giants.
Hall of Famers Tommy Lasorda and Sandy Koufax removed the blue curtain covering a microphone with Scully’s name near the left field foul pole. It is next to the 10 jersey numbers that have been retired, which are displayed in numerical order.
Scully’s name is next to the No. 53 worn by Hall of Fame pitcher Don Drysdale, who was later a Dodgers broadcaster. Scully is the first addition to the Ring of Honor since 1998 when pitcher Don Sutton’s No. 20 was retired in connection with his election to the Hall of Fame.
Scully was accompanied by manager Dave Roberts as they walked from the Dodger dugout to shallow left field for the ceremony, with the team following behind.
Scully began his address to the crowd by using one of the phrases he opened broadcasts with: “Hi everybody, and a very pleasant good evening to you,” drawing a roar from the crowd.
“This is a rather emotional moment for me, but I’m trying very hard to keep a stiff upper lip,” said Scully, who retired as the voice of the team after the 2016 regular season after 67 seasons as a Dodgers broadcaster, beginning in 1950 when the team was based in Brooklyn.
Scully said the retired jerseys “are numbers to many. To me, they are friends of mine throughout my baseball life.”
Scully described “sitting at the feet” of Roy Campanella during spring training, hearing the Hall of Fame catcher share tales of playing in the Negro Leagues.
Scully recounted a story about the Dodgers bus being passed by the Pittsburgh Pirates bus on a highway in Pittsburgh, prompting a player to make a crack about the Dodgers getting a better bus. Manager Walter Alston then told the driver to stop the bus so he could address the team. “I’m stepping outside. If anybody wants to come out and discuss the transportation of this team, come and talk to me,” he said.
Scully said Pee Wee Reese, the Brooklyn Dodgers Hall of Fame shortstop, “was always the captain. His wife was the housemother of the wives of the rookies who joined the club.”
Scully recalled that he first heard Lasorda’s name mentioned during spring training in 1950, when Buzzie Bavasi, then the general manager of the Dodgers’ Montreal International League affiliate, said he “had to leave and stop a kid from killing himself.”
That kid was the then-22-year-old Lasorda, who pitched for the Dodgers’ Class-A South Atlantic League affiliate in Greenville, South Carolina the previous season, and had vowed to pitch batting practice to every player in spring training.
“In those days, the Dodgers had 26 farm teams and 125 players known as free agents,” Scully said. “What Tommy was going to do for $50 was pitch to 725 players. That was the first time I heard of the drive inside of Tommy Lasorda.”
“With all those numbers, I see faces,” Scully said. “I hear voices. I see their athletic ability. And now they’re welcoming me home.”
Scully then displayed his legendary modesty.
“But you know what, just between you and me, and don’t tell management, I don’t deserve to be up there with them.,” Scully said.
The fans then voiced their objection.
“Anyway, I’m there and eternally grateful to the Dodgers for putting me there,” Scully said, before concluding with another of his famed phrases, “Now, if you want to join me again, it’s time for Dodger baseball.”
