Bob Costas retiring from MLB play-by-play work after 42 years

(Photo credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images)

Bob Costas is bidding farewell to baseball, the sport he is perhaps best known for, and retiring as an MLB play-by-play announcer.

Costas, 72, confirmed his retirement to The Athletic on Thursday but said he will open up on his decision at a later date.

Near the end of a storied sports broadcasting career, Costas has served as the lead play-by-play man for MLB Network games since the network was launched in 2009. He has also worked playoff games for Turner, and his last assignment was the New York Yankees' win over the Kansas City Royals in the American League Division Series on TBS.

Costas decided before this season that he would retire after 2024, coinciding with the end of his contract, according to The Athletic.

Costas received the National Baseball Hall of Fame's Ford C. Frick Award for broadcast excellence in 2018. He called baseball for NBC from 1982-89 and 1994-2000, including World Series broadcasts in 1995, 1997 and 1999.

He has worked as a play-by-play announcer and studio host for several other sports over the past five decades, most notably as the primetime host of the Olympic Games on NBC from 1992-2016.

--Field Level Media