For years, baseball fans supported the idea of legendary broadcaster Bob Costas stepping in as commissioner of Major League Baseball.
It was never all that likely and Costas says he was never approached as a real candidate. But Costas believes he would have been fairly successful in the role, though not ultimately the right man for the job.
He explained why in an interview on The Dan Patrick Show on Monday.
“I really don’t think, honestly, that I was qualified,” Costas told Patrick. “Because there are aspects of it, grassroots economics and especially all the backroom wheeling and dealing and twisting of arms, you have to have a certain temperament for that. And I don’t.”
Costas currently works for MLB Network and calls MLB games for Warner Bros. Discovery Sports on TBS. Baseball fans today have a love-hate relationship with the loquacious 71-year-old, but Costas is content with his place in the game.
“The analogy I always used was if you think a particular columnist is astute politically, that doesn’t necessarily mean you think he or she should run for president or be a Supreme Court justice,” Costas explained. “I was a commentator about baseball … and if people appreciated that, well then that was my contribution.”
As far back as 1995, baseball fans and writers seriously considered Costas for commissioner. In 2013, Costas gave an interview with the Huffington Post denying his qualifications to replace Bud Selig before rattling off a bunch of well-thought-out changes he would make to the league.
It certainly seems like Costas wanted to run baseball, even if he knows it was improbable.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.