Vin Scully signs off for last time in broadcasting career

Vin Scully's iconic voice on the videoboard welcomed a sellout crowd to Game No. 162, the regular-season finale, yes, and more notably the last of his decorated, Hall of Fame broadcasting career.

"It's time for Giant-Dodger baseball, the greatest rivalry in all of professional sports," Scully declared.

Scully attended morning Mass in the ballpark as is his usual Sunday routine and then headed for his booth to work as he has done for an astounding 67 years — exactly 80 years after he became a Giants fan at age 8 in the Bronx.

"It was as if it was ordained," Scully said during San Francisco's 7-1 win that secured the Giants the second NL wild card. "I hope you're enjoying it and I hope I'm not interrupting it too much."

San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy cherished his chance to visit with Scully last week at Dodger Stadium, and to be part of Scully's special farewell Sunday.

"This is his last game, and we're honoured to think he'd come up here, 80 years to the day that he became a Giants fan," Bochy said. "That's pretty amazing, isn't it? Not just a tremendous body of work but how long he's been doing it and how great he still is. So it's pretty cool."

The 88-year-old Scully politely declined any kind of on-field celebration offered by the Giants. However, he handled the Giants' broadcast in the third inning, then said while San Francisco fans might consider it no big deal, it was for him, noting his appreciation of the thoughtful gesture.

Mike Krukow and the other Giants broadcasters told Scully how much they loved him and led "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" in the adjoining booth from Scully during the seventh-inning stretch.

In the sixth, amid all the reflection and fanfare, Scully reminded his audience he was supposed to be handling play-by-play.

"It has been a party, a retirement party," he said, "and it has been marvelous."

Everybody involved seemed to appreciate the moment, being a tiny part of it or simply playing witness to the end of an era in baseball.

"It's hard to repeat what happened last Sunday at Dodger Stadium, but the finality now, Dodgers-Giants, I know there might be a tear in Vin's eye," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "To be a part of what he's done in his last game, I'll give him a little salute at some point."

Afterward, Roberts called it a "huge honour" to be part of Scully's finale and also "sad day, but it's something that definitely should be rejoiced. He's had an amazing career."

Scully told his story once more of going to games at the old Polo Grounds, the tale of the "little red-headed kid walking by a Chinese laundry, 8 3/4 leaving grammar school on his way home."

"I just fell in love with baseball."