Scully hits all the right notes in farewell

LOS ANGELES — At the end of the day, Vin Scully asked the crowd to indulge him a personal moment. Twenty-five years earlier, he’d recorded a song for his wife, Sandi, and had recently had it remixed and digitized.

This is how he would leave Dodger Stadium on Sunday afternoon for the final time as the voice of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He would make it about her, not him.

“I know it’s modest,” Scully said. “I know I’m an amateur. Do you mind listening?”

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With that, he wrapped an arm around his wife’s shoulders, wiped away tears and swayed gently as the public-address system belted out his voice singing “Wind Beneath My Wings.”

So I was the one with all the glory, while you were the one with all the strength.

Endings are imperfect things, especially endings like this one. He’d been a constant, sweet presence in the lives of so many, his voice soothing and precise, his manners impeccable. He’d been in our lives for so long no one could imagine otherwise.

Did you ever know that you’re my hero, and everything I would like to be?

Down on the field, Dodgers players and coaches paused their celebration of a division championship to turn toward the booth and salute Scully one final time at Dodger Stadium.

In the stands, fans wiped away tears, held signs and waved. It was the end of a weekend of celebration — a weekend Scully wanted to make about only baseball but couldn’t.

I want you to know I know the truth, of course I know it. I would be nothing without you.

And when it was done, Scully waved to the crowd one last time, touched his heart and saluted. He and Sandi exited his broadcast booth and walked slowly through the press box as friends and colleagues wished them well.

He will call next weekend’s Dodgers-Giants series in San Francisco and then close the door on a 67-season career.

Scully had hoped this final home game would be a meaningful contest that could carry him through the day.

He got exactly what he wanted when the Dodgers …

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