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Bob Costas Retires From MLB Play-by-Play After 44 Years

matt webb mitovich
·1 min read

Bob Costas is retiring from Major League Baseball play-by-play, the Syracuse alum and veteran sportscaster confirmed for The Athletic on Thursday.

Costas told The Athletic that he would address his decision at a later date.

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The Athletic reports that Costas made his decision prior to the season, which coincided with the end of his contract. He will, however, continue his emeritus work at MLB Network, which included serving as an analyst and opining on historic events.

Costas called his last game on Oct. 10, when the New York Yankees bested the Kansas City Royals in Game 4 of the American League Division Series, to move on to the ALDS against the Guardians.

Costas’ MLB play-by-play career began 44 years ago, and he leaves behind some iconic calls — including his “Do you believe it?!” call of Ryne Sandberg’s second game-tying home run in a June 1984, extra-innings Cubs-Cards game, and his work on the 1988 World Series, where an on-air comment questioning the Dodgers’ chances ignited a rallying cry that reversed Los Angeles’ fortunes.

Costas previously retired from his main on-air roles at NBC Sports, as primetime host of NBC’s Olympics coverage (turning the reins over to fellow S.U. grad Mike Tirico), and he called his last Super Bowl in 2017. In January 2019, he officially departed from NBC Sports after 40 years.

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