Vin Scully Offers Uplifting Message for Fans After Canceled Opening Day

Legendary broadcaster Vin Scully addressed baseball fans with an uplifting message after MLB's Opening Day was canceled.

Iconic broadcaster Vin Scully spent Thursday like the rest of baseball fans: missing what should have been Opening Day for all 30 MLB clubs.

Days after sharing what he's been up to during the days of self-isolation, Scully took to social media to offer a message to baseball fans like him who have felt a sense of loss and longing as Opening Day passed by without any games played.

"Hi everybody, and a very pleasant good afternoon to you, wherever you may be," Scully opened his message with, a nod to his typical intro during Dodgers broadcasts. "Excuse me, that’s a form of habit, but ‘wherever you may be,’ that means most of you are home, just as I am, waiting, hopefully, for Opening Day. I trust all is well, I hope you are far away from any sickness, and I miss you."

Scully, 92, called Dodgers games on the radio and television for 67 seasons, from 1950 to 2016. He recalled past national adversities he's witnessed throughout his lifetime, offering encouragement that this current hardship will pass as well.

"These are tough times, certainly I don’t have to tell you that," Scully said. "But having lived as long as I have lived, 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, and getting not only back on its feet, but saving the whole world."

Baseball fans certainly have a lot to miss with Opening Day postponed indefinitely. But no matter when baseball returns and the games finally begin, Scully urges everyone to make the most of their time at home.

"You and I, yeah, things are tough, but we’ll be up off our knees soon, and we just want to remind you about that," he said. "And in the meantime, spend the precious time at home with your family. Pray a little bit more, like most of us will do, and above all, try to smile. Because when you smile, that makes everybody else feel better. God bless."


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Nick Selbe
NICK SELBE

Nick Selbe is a programming editor at Sports Illustrated who frequently writes about baseball and college sports. Before joining SI in March 2020 as a breaking/trending news writer, he worked for MLB Advanced Media, Yahoo Sports and Bleacher Report. Selbe received a bachelor's in communication from the University of Southern California.