Mets’ Terry Collins has high praise for Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully

New York Mets Manager Terry Collins signed his first professional contract with the Dodgers in 1974 and became a manager in the organization’s minor league system seven seasons later. The lone constant in the organization — then, now and years before Collins arrived — was broadcaster Vin Scully.

“When you’re a player, you’d get to meet him and say hi and he’d always have time for you, no matter who you were,” Collins said Tuesday afternoon before the Mets played the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. “I remember one time we were going to play golf at the end of the day and one of our guys didn’t have any left-handed clubs and Vin said, ‘Mine are over there. Go ahead and take them.’”

So Collins raced to the broadcast booth Tuesday to see Scully, who is retiring at the end of this season, his 67th with the Dodgers. Collins explained, “His voice was Dodger baseball.

“He’s one of the finest human beings on the face of the earth, to me. Who he is, and he treats you like you’re something special when he’s the one who’s special.”

Rehab assignment

The 30-day clock has started for the Dodgers and Alex Guerrero, who has started a rehabilitation assignment for a knee injury with Class-A Rancho Cucamonga. Guerrero had been nursing the injury since midway through spring training.

The Dodgers do not have a place for Guerrero on their everyday roster, unless he siphons at-bats away from Justin Turner at third base. But Guerrero, a 29-year-old with a .224 batting average in the majors, can refuse any minor league assignment.

Manager Dave Roberts did not guarantee the team would clear space for Guerrero when his rehab assignment ends.

“We’ll see how he responds with the health,” Roberts said. “He’s got to get hits, and he’s also got to be healthy.”

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