Vin Scully sends hopeful message to fans

Perhaps the most soothing recipe for difficult times is something as simple as listening to Vin Scully.

Legendary broadcaster Vin Scully delivered a special message to Dodgers fans on Friday. In a message recorded from his home, he offered words of encouragement and hope in these difficult times where people have found their daily routines upended due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“Most of you are home, just as I am, waiting, hopefully, for Opening Day,” Scully said in a message broadcast on the Dodgers Twitter account. “I trust all is well. I hope you are far and away from any sickness, and I miss you.”

The 92-year-old former broadcaster talked about what he has missed most since retiring as the Voice of the Dodgers, a title he held in the highest regard for 67 seasons. He said he misses the people most, from the elevator operators to the “ladies cooking the hot dogs.”

After moving to both radio and television, Scully said he lost touch with the players on an everyday basis, no longer hanging out near the batting cages. He joked he also didn’t like it when the players started calling him “Mr.”

In a two-minute message, Scully offered hope to fans.

“Having lived as long as I have lived,” he said, “I’ve seen this country, the greatest country on earth, get off its knees, literally and figuratively. When they were down and out during the depression. And when they were on their knees after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. And what happened then, they unleashed a tiger; the tiger was the whole country pulling together.”

In closing, he reminded fans to spend this extra time with their families and to keep smiling.

My personal note: Bravo, Mr. Scully! If players or fans call you “Mr.” it is only out of the greatest respect.