Bob Costas is retiring as an MLB playcaller after a career spanning more than 40 years.
Costas himself confirmed the decision to The Athletic but declined to make a statement, telling Andrew Marchand that he would “prefer to discuss the decision and his MLB play-by-player career at a later date.”
The final call of Costas’ play-by-play career came at the end of Game 4 of the American League Division Series between the New York Yankees and Kansas City Royals. The Yankees defeated the Royals to advance to the American League Championship Series (which they would also win).
Costas, 72, called MLB games for 44 years, the vast majority of them at NBC. He started there in 1980 and would provide play-by-play for three World Series and ten championship series over the years. But he also expanded beyond baseball, most notably hosting NBC’s Olympic coverage for many years. He began calling games for TBS in 2020 after the end of his contract with NBC in 2019. Costas will also stop calling games on MLB Network, where he has been since the network began broadcasting in 2009.
According to Marchand, Costas made the decision to retire from play-by-play work before the 2024 season began, which coincidentally coincided with the end of his contract with TBS.
While Costas will stop calling baseball games, he is not done broadcasting yet. He will continue to work as an analyst and commentator for MLB Network, as well as serve as the voice of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
