If he were a younger more sentimental man, Vin Scully probably would have accompanied the Dodgers to Philadelphia for the Citizens Bank Park series that begins Tuesday.
But the sport's most eloquent, mellifluous and beloved broadcaster is 88 now and happy for any respite from the spotlit hoopla that's accompanied his 67th and last season.
A final visit here would have brought Scully full circle, back to the city where, in the third inning of a Dodgers-Phillies game at Shibe Park on April 18, 1950, his long and distinguished career officially began.
No tapes survive from that Philadelphia debut, when partners Red Barber and Connie Desmond yielded the mike to him for the third and seventh innings of the Phillies season-opening 9-1 victory.