Hall of Fame broadcaster Bob Costas featured on the next installment on MLB Network's The Sounds of Baseball
Feb. 1, 2024 – MLB Network will look back at some of the signature baseball calls from Hall of Fame broadcaster Bob Costas in a new The Sounds of Baseball episode debuting Thursday, Feb. 8, at 8 p.m. ET. Co-hosted by MLB Network’s Tom Verducci and Matt Vasgersian, the program will reflect on Costas’ legendary run covering the game, from iconic Postseason moments to memorable regular season games. Awarded the Ford C. Frick Award for broadcast excellence by the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2018, Costas has been on the national baseball stage for more than 40 years. For the 2024 season, Costas is once again set to be the play-by-play voice for several MLB Network Showcase telecasts, a role he started when MLB Network launched 15 years ago in 2009. A clip from The Sounds of Baseball program on Costas can be seen here.
“Bob Costas’ name and voice are synonymous with baseball. If you love the game, you will love this special. It is more than an appreciation of the skill and breadth of his work behind the mic,” says Verducci, who has called games alongside Costas since the 2009 season. “It is also a look back at milestone moments of the past four decades and how his love of the game shines through.”
From a memorable exchange with Los Angeles Dodgers Hall of Fame manager Tommy Lasorda following Game 4 of the 1988 World Series as a young field reporter, to his closing remarks from his Hall of Fame acceptance speech in Cooperstown, the program documents Costas’ special place in baseball broadcasting. Costas’ memorable calls for NBC Sports are covered throughout the program, including the “Sandberg Game” in 1984, Tony Pena’s walk-off home run in Game 1 of the 1995 ALDS, the Derek Jeter – Jeffrey Maier home run moment in Game 1 of the 1996 ALCS and Édgar Rentería’s walk-off single to win the 1997 World Series. Costas’ adept ability to provide journalistic context to his calls are highlighted by Verducci and Vasgersian as is his unique sense of humor that he adds to a telecast. For MLB Network, Stephen Strasburg’s sensational debut in 2010 and Jeter’s final at-bat at Yankee Stadium in 2014 are relived.
Following the Feb. 8 debut of The Sounds of Baseball on Costas, MLB Network will re-air Game 7 of the 1997 World Series in its entirety with Costas, Bob Uecker, and Joe Morgan on the call at 9 p.m. ET. Launched in June 2020, The Sounds of Baseball series has profiled several iconic voices of the game, including Mel Allen, Red Barber, Jack Buck, Harry Caray, Joe Garagiola, Curt Gowdy, Tony Kubek, Al Michaels, Jon Miller, Vin Scully and Bob Uecker.
In addition to calling games, Costas has been part of multiple series since joining MLB Network, including Studio 42 with Bob Costas, MLB’s 20 Greatest Games, Costas at the Movies and most recently The Sounds of Baseball. MLB Network’s first night on the air on Jan. 1, 2009, featured a never-before-seen replay of Don Larsen’s World Series perfect game in 1956, with Costas interviewing the late Larsen and catcher Yogi Berra in Studio 42.