NEW YORK – After 42 seasons, Bob Costas retires from baseball play-by-play.

Costas had played games over the past two seasons for MLB Network and TBS Sports. His last matches were American League Division Series between the New York Yankees and the Kansas City Royals.

Costas’ contract with TBS expired at the end of the season, but his plan to retire from play-by-play baseball had been in the works for more than a year.

The Athletic was first to report on Costas’ play-by-play retirement from baseball. Costas plans to reconsider his decision at a later date.

Baseball has always been Costas’ favorite sport. He broadcast games on NBC from 1982 to 1989, then from 1994 to 2000. He was one of the announcers for the 1995 World Series, then the lead play-by-play voice for the Fall Classic in 1997 and ’99.

He joined TBS in 2021 to serve as studio host for its coverage of the National League Championship Series, then called games for the past three seasons. TBS has offered a set of Tuesday night regular season games to accompany its playoff coverage since 2022.

Costas has also directed games on MLB Network since its debut in 2009. He will continue to work for the network on key events, including the Baseball Hall of Fame announcement.

In 2018, he received the Ford C. Frick Award for Broadcast Excellence from the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Costas is also known for serving as the primetime host of NBC’s Olympics coverage from 1992 to 2016. He has also made appearances as a commentator on sports issues on CNN.

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