Bob Costas, the longtime baseball play-by-play voice, is retiring from calling games after 42 years

NEW YORK — After 42 seasons, Bob Costas is retiring from baseball play-by-play.

Costas, 72, had done games the last couple of seasons for MLB Network and TBS Sports. His final games were the American League Division Series between the New York Yankees and Kansas City Royals.

Costas’ contract with TBS expired at the end of the season, but his plans to retire from baseball play-by-play had been in the works for more than a year.

The Athletic was the first to report on Costas’ baseball play-by-play retirement. Costas plans to address his decision at a future date.

Baseball always has been Costas’ favorite sport. He called games on NBC from 1982-89 and again from 1994-2000. He was one of the announcers for the 1995 World Series and then the main play-by-play voice for the Fall Classic in 1997 and ’99.

He joined TBS in 2021 to serve as studio host for its coverage of the National League Championship Series and then called games the last three seasons. TBS has had a package of Tuesday night regular-season games to go with its postseason coverage since 2022.

Costas had also done games on MLB Network since its start in 2009. He will continue to do some work for the network on key events, including the Baseball Hall of Fame announcement.

In 2018, he received the Ford C. Frick Award for broadcast excellence from the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Costas is also known for being the prime-time host of NBC’s Olympics coverage from 1992 to 2016. He also has made appearances as a commentator on sports issues on CNN.

Originally Published: October 31, 2024 at 6:35 PM CDT