Despite his vast experiences across sports, Costas said he thinks of himself as a baseball guy firstGETTY IMAGES
Bob Costas this weekend becomes the 42nd honoree of the Ford C. Frick Award for his "contribution to baseball’s broadcasting history," and it will serve as "validation that Costas has mattered in the conversation of the national pastime," according to Tom Hoffarth of the L.A. TIMES. Costas said, “I was smart to realize, even at 9, 10 years old, that if I was ever going to get into Yankee Stadium without having to buy the ticket, it would probably be to where Red Barber and Mel Allen were sitting rather than where Mickey Mantle was standing. That idea of being a broadcaster took hold very early” (L.A. TIMES, 7/27). In Boston, Chad Finn writes Costas is a "baseball guy first," but he "isn't just a baseball guy." The majority of those familiar with his work "think of him in some other role, perhaps foremost as the 11-time prime-time host of NBC’s Olympics coverage, but also as a studio host on NFL and NBA coverage." Somewhere down the list is his "co-starring role in the film 'BASEketball.'" Costas "acknowledges he thinks of himself as a baseball guy first, too." He said, “I enjoy broadcasting baseball more than anything I do. I still feel more connected to baseball than any other game." Costas currently calls games for MLB Network, but he noted, "I probably have done fewer games than anyone who has ever received this honor." As "apparent and authentic as his affection for baseball has always been, Costas has never been reluctant to acknowledge the sport’s problems." He was "skeptical of the swollen biceps, foreheads, and home run totals during what we would come to know as the steroid era, and he revealed that skepticism in prominent places." But there was "romanticism to be found, too" and he made an "impassioned argument for more daytime World Series games" (BOSTON GLOBE, 7/27).
WHAT IF? In St. Louis, Dan Caesar notes Costas "acknowledges he has 'done pretty good' with the sport." But he said, “If I have a small regret, it’s that I sometimes wonder how good I could have been at baseball if NBC had kept it so I could have done baseball there for 30 years.” He estimates he has "called only about 500 ballgames because his career took different paths." Costas: “That’s basically just three seasons for a full-time baseball announcer.” He is only the "second of the 42 Frick winners to never have broadcast an individual team on a regular basis" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 7/27).
FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME: Costas said of broadcasting an MLB game, "If in some way you can enhance people’s enjoyment and understanding of an event, then you’ve done a good job." Costas said baseball is his favorite sport because it is the "best canvas for a certain kind of broadcaster, and so while I’ve enjoyed and been honored to do all the other things, baseball is still the thing closest to my heart" ("The Rundown," MLB Network, 7/24).
