Bob Costas addresses retirement: ‘I couldn’t consistently reach my past standard’

After announcing he was retiring from Major League Baseball play-by-play, Bob Costas reflected on the decision with Tom Verducci.

Last week, The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand reported Costas was stepping down from his play-by-play responsibilities following an illustrious run of more than four decades. Costas will continue as a contributor to MLB Network, but not as a play-by-play voice.

Bob Costas sits down with Tom Verducci to talk through his decision to retire from play-by-play announcing and reflect on his career. pic.twitter.com/8LkxIalgsv

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) November 4, 2024

“I knew for more than a year that this would be the end of it,” Costas told Verducci. “You and I discussed it about a year and a half ago. And I felt that I couldn’t consistently reach my past standard. There might have been individual games or stretches within games or moments in games that were just the same as if it was the 1990s or the early 21st century. But I couldn’t string enough of them together.

“And I have too much regard for the game, for the craft, and for whatever my own standard has been to hit beneath my lifetime batting average, which is why I’m grateful to the MLB Network for replaying the Sounds of Baseball. Because players have this advantage over people in almost any other profession. My guy Mickey Mantle hit well below his lifetime average his last few years, but even a kid who never saw him play can go to Baseball Reference and see what the career was like. And I just felt like in the last couple of years, I couldn’t quite reach that. And what I hoped for this year…I just hoped to end on a grace note.”

Barring a comeback, Game 4 of the 2024 American League Division Series between the New York Yankees and Kansas City Royals on TBS will go down as the final Major League Baseball play-by-play broadcast for Costas. And in a series where the legendary broadcaster received much criticism on social media for lacking enthusiasm in big moments, Game 4 was probably his best call of the postseason.

Costas called his first MLB game for NBC 44 years ago. And for the last 15 years, Costas has been MLB Network’s lead play-by-play voice, calling about 10 games each season. But when Costas parted with NBC, he joined CNN and TBS at the recruitment of former NBC executive Jeff Zucker. After going more than two decades without calling a MLB playoff series in its entirety, Costas called the Chicago White Sox and Houston Astros in the ALDS for TBS in 2021.

Baseball is probably the sport Costas is most closely associated with and it was good for to have him back calling playoff games. But it was a tough spot for any broadcaster to be in. By his own account, Costas couldn’t consistently reach his past standard. Costas wasn’t getting the play-by-play reps that he was 30 years ago and it’s difficult to assume any announcer can just pick it up in the playoffs.

At 72 years old, Costas certainly achieved his goal of going out with grace. Costas called three World Series, 10 league championships and earned the Ford C. Frick Award for broadcast excellence from the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2018. For 44 years, baseball was able to enjoy having one of the biggest names in sportscasting as an announcer.

[MLB Network]