The ALDS series between the New York Yankees and Cleveland Guardians will have Bob Costas on the call for the entire series — the first time he will call an entire MLB playoff series since the 2000 ALCS.
Costas, who has called individual playoff games in recent years for MLB Network, will now get the chance at a full series with TBS, working alongside color commentator Ron Darling and reporter Lauren Shehadi
The 70-year-old Emmy-winning announcer is one of the most recognizable voices in sports, spending much of his career working primetime coverage on NBC, which included Olympics, NFL, NBA and MLB, the latter of which he called playoff games from 1982-2000.
But now that Costas is with Turner Sports, he can return to doing a full series for the sport he is most passionate about.
“I’m really excited about the prospect of doing an entire series instead of parachuting in for a single game,” Costas told sports media reporter Richard Deitsch. “We used to do one game in each series, alternating National League and American League, for MLBN. We’d come in for Game 2 or Game 3, and that was fine. But you didn’t have the full narrative of the series.
“To do a full series like this, I haven’t done that since I did the ALCS for NBC in 2000, the Mariners against the Yankees. So it allows you to get into a rhythm. It isn’t quite like playing, but it’s the closest thing to it. You remember every pitch. So if something happens in Game 3 and it somehow connects to some tension from Game 1, you’re on top of it in the way that a good local announcer would be.”
Once the ALDS ends, Costas will continue working the MLB playoffs in studio for TBS during the ALCS.
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Sign Up and Follow Audacy Sports
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram