GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Vin Scully, the Los Angeles Dodgers' Hall of Fame broadcaster, will further trim his already-limited travel schedule for the 2012 season, a team official confirmed Saturday.
Scully, 84, now will call road games within California (San Diego, San Francisco and a June interleague series at Oakland) and at Arizona. The reduction means he no longer will travel to Colorado and won't call an interleague series at Seattle in June.
Several years ago, at Scully's request, the Dodgers cut his travel and limited it to National League West cities, although Scully made occasional exceptions for nearby interleague trips. At the request of owner Frank McCourt, Scully even accompanied the team on an East Coast trip in 2004 that included a rare stop in McCourt's hometown of Boston.
"There really is no big reason," Scully said before the Dodgers played the Giants on Saturday night. "I just wanted to back off a little bit more on the travel. That is basically it. I remember telling Frank McCourt years ago, I said I would like to disappear like a cheshire cat, where all of a sudden, the only thing left is a smile. Well, this is just a little bit of that disappearing going on, and as long as they are allowing me to do it, then why not?"
Scully, who is entering his 63rd season with the Dodgers, still will call more than 100 games this season, with the first three innings simulcast on radio before Charley Steiner and Rick Monday take over the radio call for the final six innings.
Scully made his 2012 debut Saturday night, when he called the Cactus League game between the Dodgers and Giants at Camelback Ranch in the second half of a day-night, split-squad doubleheader. Scully also will call Sunday's game against the Angels.