Bob Costas retires from calling MLB games

The end of the 2024 Major League Baseball season also marks the end of Bob Costas’s iconic play-by-play career.

Andrew Marchand of The Athletic was first to report news of the 72-year-old Costas stepping down from his play-by-play responsibilities, following an illustrious run of more than four decades.

Costas is only retiring from play-by-play and will continue to be a contributor with MLB Network, where he works as a host and analyst. But Game 4 of the 2024 American League Division Series between the New York Yankees and Kansas City Royals on TBS will go down as his final Major League Baseball play-by-play broadcast.

Costas received a lot of social media criticism for his call of the Yankees-Royals series, with many claiming he lacked enthusiasm in the biggest moments. But those recent social media criticisms didn’t appear to factor into his decision. According to Marchand, Costas decided this was going to be his last year working as an MLB play-by-play voice prior to the start of the season. The decision to retire coincides with his current contract coming to an end.

It’s been nearly a half-century since Costas called his first MLB game for NBC, 44 years to be exact. And for the last 15 years, Costas has been MLB Network’s lead play-by-play voice. After being the face of NBC Sports for decades, Costas joined CNN and TBS in 2020 at the recruitment of former NBC executive Jeff Zucker. Costas called his first full MLB playoff series for TBS in 2021 after going more than two decades without calling a series in its entirety.

While Costas has been a mainstay in all sports throughout his career, he remains most closely associated with baseball for his play-by-play and commentary. Costas called three World Series, 10 league championships and earned the Ford C. Frick Award for broadcast excellence from the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2018.

Despite some criticisms directed toward Costas during this postseason, it’s been a pleasure for MLB fans to hear one of the most iconic voices in sports calling baseball games for 44 years.

[The Athletic]