Bob Costas is retiring as a play-by-play caller in Major League Baseball, marking the end of a legendary run that saw him become synonymous with the game over four decades and earn a place in the broadcast wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Costas confirmed the news on Thursday when he stopped by The Athleticsbut said he would prefer to discuss the decision and his play-by-play career in the MLB at a later date. His last game broadcast on TBS was the Game 4 clincher of the New York Yankees in the American League Division Series. Costas vaguely insinuated that this could be his last call by the end of the broadcast.

Costas, 72, will continue his emeritus work at MLB Network, where he contributes as an analyst to several shows, including covering historical events such as the Hall of Fame announcement. He has been MLBN’s primary play-by-play voice on games since the network’s founding 15 years ago, but will also relinquish that role.

The decision to retire was made by Costas before the season, coinciding with the expiry of his contract, according to sources briefed on the decision.

The Pulse Newsletter

Free, daily sports updates straight to your inbox.

Free, daily sports updates straight to your inbox.

To register

In 2020, Costas joined CNN at the urging of Jeff Zucker, the network’s leader. When Zucker also took control of what is now known as TNT Sports, he brought Costas into baseball.

Costas and Zucker have a long history together, dating back to when Zucker, fresh out of Harvard, was an Olympic researcher for Costas in 1988.

During the TBS playoffs, Costas called the Yankees’ series and attracted a lot of attention due to his profile and the perception, especially among some on social media, that he wasn’t as on top of the action as he used to be and that he was missing some things. enthusiasm in some big moments.

Costas has realized that his play-by-play was not up to the standard he set for himself when he first really entered the baseball world during his popular partnership with Tony Kubek on NBC in the 1980s.

Costas called his first MLB game for NBC 44 years ago. During his decades in the sport, he was at the microphone for three World Series and ten league championships.

He also worked as a play-by-play or host for a series of those events, plus divisional round playoffs and All-Star games. Costas won the 2018 Ford C. Frick Award for Outstanding Broadcasting from the Baseball Hall of Fame.

After leaving NBC in 2019, Zucker recruited Costas for CNN and TBS, which is now under the TNT Sports umbrella. Costas hosted the post-season playoff coverage and then transitioned to the play-by-play role. Costas replaced Don Orsillo.

While Brian Anderson remained TNT Sports’ top MLB game caller, Costas usually got the more high-profile assignment during the divisional round series. This year, for example, Costas was part of the Yankees-Kansas City Royals’ divisional round series, while Anderson worked for the Cleveland Guardians-Detroit Tigers.

However, Costas will continue with MLB Network, not on play-by-play. He had dubbed the network’s broadcasts “Showcase” since the network’s founding in 2009.

In addition to appearances on other shows, he has also hosted programs such as ‘Studio 42 with Bob Costas’, ‘MLB’s Greatest Games’ and ‘Costas at the Movies’.

When MLBN began on New Year’s Day 2009, Costas followed an unprecedented replay of Don Larsen’s perfect 1956 game by interviewing the Yankees battery of Larsen and Yogi Berra.

TNT Sports will now look for a play-by-play replacement for Costas for regular season and playoff coverage.

Required reading

(Photo: Alex Trautwig/MLB via Getty Images)