Bob Costas retires from MLB Games after 44 years

Legendary sportscaster Bob Costas will stop calling Major League Baseball games, according to a report.

Costas, 72, is on the verge of retiring from live play-by-play after calling his first Major League game 44 years ago. The Athletics First reported on Thursday. The veteran journalist confirmed the report but said he would comment on his decision at a later date.

Costas has worked for TBS for the past three seasons and his contract with parent group Warner Bros. Discovery ends at the end of this year. The last MLB game he called for the network was the New York Yankees’ victory over the Kansas City Royals in the American League Division Series on October 10.

He will also retire from playing calls for the MLB Network, where he has also worked as an announcer since 2009. He will continue to work for the station covering events such as Baseball Hall of Fame announcements. Costas decided to retire before the 2024 MLB season started, sources said The Athletics.

The veteran sportscaster began his career at NBC Sports and began calling MLB games for the network in 1982. Costas also reported play-by-play analysis for NBA and NFL games, and led NBC’s Olympic coverage for more than two decades before 2016 retired.

But his voice was synonymous with baseball for decades, having called three World Series in 1995, 1997 and 1999. In 2018, he received the Ford C. Frick Award, the Baseball Hall of Fame’s award honoring broadcasters.

Costas left NBC in 2019, after reportedly pulling out of the 2018 Super Bowl broadcast — which he claimed because of his criticism of football’s ongoing problem with concussions and player health.