Behind the scenes with Vin Scully on opening day of his retirement

The assignment was to spend opening day hanging out with Vin Scully, his first official day of retirement after spending 67 years as the Dodgers broadcaster.

Scully heard my request last week and laughed.

“Nah, you don’t want to spend the day with me. I’m just going to be doing regular, boring stuff,” he said. “But you can call me during the game and I’ll tell you all about it.”

So, during the fifth inning Monday, with the Dodgers leading the San Diego Padres, 9-1, I sneaked away to the back of the press box to call Scully on his cellphone.

After several rings, he answered with a chuckle. He had predicted correctly. He was indeed doing regular, boring stuff. But hearing it from Scully, it sounded like theater.

“My wife Sandi told me I should tell you I spent the day doing something like studying Mandarin,” he said. “But I told her, people know me better than that.”

I told him his voice was still being heard throughout Dodger Stadium, booming from the scoreboard, narrating various historic videos.

“That’s nice,” he said. “Like someone once said, instead of being gone and forgotten, it’s better to be gone and remembered.”

OK, fine, so what exactly was he doing?

“Today I was engaged in that other national pastime, paying bills,” said Scully. “Then I went to the post office to mail them, and now I’m just leaving the car wash.”

You spent part of opening day at the car wash?

“Some people did stop me and say it was strange to see me,” he said. “I told them I agree.”

But now you’re headed home to at least watch the end of the game?

“I have to go to the hardware store to pick up some anti-moth product, I’m not sure if I’ll get home in time to see it,” Scully said. “Who’s winning?”

He was told it was the Dodgers. He was asked if he was happy.

“Sure I am,” he said. “I’ve got a really clean car.”

He then seriously added that spending the afternoon living a normal life with his beloved wife was, for him, the perfect opening day.

“I’m aware that I’m not where I’ve been for about 60,000 years,” he said. “But I’m just where I want to be.”

bill.plaschke@latimes.com

Twitter: @billplaschke