April 11--About 200 Dodgers fans clad in the team's signature blue descended on Chavez Ravine on Monday morning to commemorate the newly named Vin Scully Avenue.
Mayor Eric Garcetti, Councilman Gil Cedillo and Dodger Chief Executive Stan Kasten spoke during the ceremony, which took place at the entrance to Dodger Stadium off Sunset Boulevard. The renamed route runs from Sunset Boulevard to Stadium Way.
"You united our city and the various communities," Cedillo said of Scully.
Emcee Charlie Steiner, who is also a Dodgers sportscaster, said Scully inspired his decision to pursue the field. Listening to Scully's broadcasts during Brooklyn Dodgers games, he said, he "immediately knew what my career path would be."
"In a city of stars, we can make a pretty compelling case that Vin is the biggest and most popular of them all," Steiner said.
The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously last week to change the name of Elysian Park Avenue to Vin Scully Avenue as a tribute to the iconic Dodgers broadcaster.
Scully, 88, plans to retire this year after 67 seasons with the baseball team.
Cedillo, who made the motion "in light of Vin Scully's remarkable and unprecedented career with the Los Angeles Dodgers," said Scully's seasons with the baseball club mark the longest time a broadcaster has been with a single team in professional sports history. Despite Scully's place in Dodger history, the newly named street isn't exactly a home run. Some community organizations, including the Citizens Committee to Save Elysian Park and the Echo Park Improvement Assn., have protested the move.
Echo Park residents have complained about a lack of community outreach. Some proposed an alternative in the form of a Vin Scully Plaza at the corner of Elysian Park Avenue and Stadium Way.
Scully said he has tentatively planned to make just three trips away from Chavez Ravine during the regular season. He called the season opener April 4 in San Diego and plans to attend the May 18 and 19 games in Anaheim, and probably the season's final series in San Francisco from Sept. 30 to Oct. 2. Scully said he would also consider the playoffs if the Dodgers are involved, an event he missed last season for medical reasons. At Monday's event, Scully said he would miss "the roar of the crowd."
"I don't know you, but I miss you. You have been so kind," Scully told the crowd. "Just to hear you, your enthusiasm, the voices that come roaring out of the stands, there's nothing like it."
As he spoke, "I love L.A." played in the background.
"One more year!" the crowd chanted. Scully laughed.
"I've given it a lot of consideration, and no thank you," he said.
Francis Esteras, 21, said he stood in the crowd because he wanted to see history.
"Vin is the greatest Dodger of them all," Esteras said.
The games won't be the same with Scully gone next year, he added.
"But you gotta keep going," Esteras said.
