The Hall of Fame announcer told the Associated Press that he still loves the job he has had with the team since 1950, but that it's hard to be away from his wife during baseball's long season.

"I'm trying to figure out if I can walk away," he said. "I'm the horse pulling the wagon with a lot of people on the wagon, so I'm really not sure. God willing, I'll do next year and then we'll just have to wait and see."

Scully, who turns 82 on Nov. 29, and his wife, Sandy, celebrated their 36th anniversary Tuesday. He spoke to the Hollywood Radio & Television Society while she stayed home because of a bad back.

Scully said his decision to retire will ultimately be made by him and his wife, who has tolerated absences that in some years stretch from spring training in March to October, depending on whether the Dodgers make the postseason.

"It's a wonderful job, but it's not glamorous," he said in a pre-speech interview. "There's nothing glamorous about your wife sitting alone having dinner in the kitchen while you're in the ballpark, so we're trying to work that out and then we'll just have to wait and see."

Scully's 59-year tenure with the Dodgers is the longest of any current sports broadcaster with one team. He calls all nine innings of the team's television broadcasts, while the first three innings of his play-by-play are simulcast on the radio.

"When the team takes the field and the crowd roars, it triggers something in me," he told the audience at the Beverly Wilshire hotel. "Forget about where they are in the standings, I think that's the secret. You just do the game and enjoy the game."

In July, Scully told a reporter he would retire after the 2010 season, and Scully said he immediately regretted saying that. He said that when the time comes, he will let the Dodgers make the announcement.

Scully works alone on the air and long ago reduced his travel schedule to avoid calling games east of the Rockies, although he calls road games against the Dodgers' National League West and American League West opponents.

His dulcet voice remains strong, instantly recognizable within the first few words to generations of Angelenos, and he appears in good health and humor, with only his red hair dulled by the passing years.

Still, it's clear Scully carefully considers his working future more than ever.

"You get to an age in life where you realize the wolves are getting closer to the campfire and you start measuring, how much do I want to be away?" he told the AP. "Then again, I look at our large family and in this particular economic time, they could use some help, so that factors into the decision."

Scully has five living children (his oldest son, Michael, was killed in a helicopter crash in 1994) and 18 grandchildren ranging in age from 2 to 18.

Known for being intensely private away from the booth, Scully provided a glimpse into his offseason life, when he embraces his role as a self-described family man.

"I enjoy it, especially because during the year, we live by a schedule. You really are under a gun for a long time," he said in the interview. "Now, I cherish the time at home. I push the cart in the supermarket and I do all the things that a man normally does as the so-called head of the household."

Scully avoids the ballpark and other sporting events when he's not working, saying, "I've had enough of crowds."

In the booth, Scully has built a legacy by seamlessly weaving anecdotes with balls and strikes. But he keeps his play-by-play between the lines, especially on such hot button issues as Dodgers outfielder Manny Ramirez's (FSY) 50-game suspension last season for violating baseball's drug policy.

"The world knew Manny had a 50-game suspension," he told the audience. "There wasn't any reason for me to talk about they were fertility drugs or whatever. I just felt it was not my role."

Scully is equally hands-off on the pending divorce between team owner Frank McCourt and his wife, Jamie.

"As someone who holds a great sanctity for marriage, it only breaks my heart," he told the crowd, which saluted him with two standing ovations.

Enlarge By Kirby Lee, US Presswire Vin Scully's tenure with the Dodgers is the longest of any current sports broadcaster with the same team.