Michael Kay: “Bob Costas is one of the greatest sports broadcasters that has ever lived. If you listened to him call games [with NBC], he called them the same way then as he calls them now. To see these young people on social media eviscerating a broadcasting god. You’re out of your minds!”
October 13, 2024
Michael Kay: “Bob Costas is one of the greatest sports broadcasters that has ever lived. If you listened to him call games [with NBC], he called them the same way then as he calls them now. To see these young people on social media eviscerating a broadcasting god. You’re out of your minds!”
41 comments
Ok, no, he’s definitely gotten worse. He calls games now like he’s trying to be a baseball historian rather than a baseball broadcaster.
I think he’s lost a step but Costas is a legend. He’s in Cars. Can’t get much more legendary than that
Two of the more annoying commentators to sit through this postseason.
Problem was him going about narratives DURING pitches. Come on.
I personally enjoy his tone and style, I know a lot of people on this sub don’t. But I really didn’t like what he actually talks about. I think its pretty clear he doesn’t follow the game like he once used to.
Is it possible, and stay with me here, to be a legend who has fallen off? To lose a step? Or do legends get a free pass forever?
Also, Michael Kay is an insufferable dweeb
I like Costas as an ambassador for the sport. His promotion for baseball is well documented and has been for several decades. There’s no complaints I have about that.
The problem Bob has is…how many baseball games does he call per season? He only calls a handful of regular season games and then one playoff series. He doesn’t do it very often, so I don’t know what people are expecting as far as his sharpness behind the mic and all that stuff is concerned. And he didn’t call any baseball games for probably a good 15 years or so after NBC lost their coverage rights. So he doesn’t call many games and hasn’t called many in “today’s” MLB.
It’s just not a recipe for success.
Asking Kay about the quality of a broadcaster is like asking Paulie Shore about the quality of an actor.
There were moments where we got the old Costas back when he was telling good stories about Buck O’Neil and the negro leagues. But then he immediately reminded us that Stanton’s slow. So yeah costas has declined a bit.
I didn’t real the whole article but if they’re saying our generation doesn’t have the attention span of previous ones that’s obviously not true.
*was
I loved hearing his voice during games. It was relaxing, and it was interesting to hear the stories he had to tell about players.
But he has definitely lost a step. His play-by-plsy calls have no emotion, and he’s become boring to listen to.
As someone who was a big fan of Costas, the man needs to retire.
This is 100% true. I saw it with Chris Berman a decade ago.
Costas is annoying in his own right but I think of the TBS broadcast wasn’t also noticeably bad on a technical level then Costas wouldn’t have come off as bad either. They are independent factors that combined into a terrible TV product.
I’ll say it again – Olympics Costas>Baseball Costas
I love Costas’ style of announcing and I think the hate is overblown. THAT SAID, I think it’s pretty clear he’s not following the league as closely as he once did. Still incredibly knowledgeable about the history (which is valuable in a national broadcast) and he’s kept up with the major players/storylines/trends, but I think the average poster on this sub is probably deeper in at this point than Costas is. I can totally see how that would rub people the wrong way, to feel like the guy who’s talking about the game isn’t as clued in as they are (or at least isn’t talking like he is).
My counterpoint is that, it’s a national broadcast and a lot of the people who are watching don’t follow super closely. Those people are getting all the info they need to follow the game from Costas and Darling.
I also just don’t need every announcer to be Dave Niehaus. The game is exciting on its own, there doesn’t always have to be someone losing their mind in the booth for me to enjoy it. The guys who get crazy excited are great, but I appreciate the variety
The best description I’ve heard of Bob Costas announcing recently is that it sounds like the network is using an AI generated version of Costas voice to call the game.
Michael Kay sucks, but a lot of y’all want this hyper-aggro, super-dramatic, Real Housewives version of baseball that doesn’t make sense with a nine month pre-regular-and-postseason. Baseball’s about history and how the moment fits into that history. Costas has lost a step maybe, but baseball fans need to chill out.
We can respect that he’s a legend while acknowledging that his style no longer meets the moment in a postseason TV broadcast. Two things can be true here.
Lol he was atrocious for the ALDS, and I’ve listened to Bob for decades. He is much better suited for interviews and long form content. His energy is nowhere near what it should be for playoff sports.
I’ve gone from a Michael Kay defender to never wanting to hear one of his shit takes ever again so damn fast these past couple weeks. Dudes like speedrunning cranky old man status.
I don’t know how you can listen to his home run call, him proceed to fuck up Stantons first name, and say he’s still good up in the booth.
Reading this whole page in Bob Costas’ voice and cadence.
I totally agree. He hasn’t changed. But the people watching now don’t seem to like it.
He’s still better than Joe Buck.
Bob Costas and Al Michaels calling the Baseketball championship will always be the GOAT in broadcasting
He’ll never be as bad as fucking Ron Darling or John Smoltz though
I wouldn’t expect any other opinion from that hack (How dare he disrespect the best crew: Gary, Keith & Ron). I appreciate Costas for his career…but anyone listening to him for that series have to agree he was insufferable.
Nobody could ever regress!!! That’s impossible!!
Oh no. They’ve eviscerated a god. A broadcasting god. Those young people. Those horrible young people. It’s always the young people. They won’t let us be snarky old pricks. They’re out of their minds.
Imo, sync up w your local radio crew and enjoy the game. Problem solved.
He does games now like he’s in a Ken Burns documentary.
Imagine being a grown man and referring to someone as a “broadcasting god”. That is sooo cringe
Bobs the same old Bob. I think most are probably under the age of 30 commenting tbh.
I honestly don’t know why people get worked up over Costas, Kay is right. He’s always been a windbag, just like Kay. But he’s a treasure trove of knowledge and stories, and people should try listening more.
Hot take: most announcers are fine and people just like their hometown crew and exaggerate the problems of anyone besides that.
It’s not just young people. It’s abundantly clear Costas is disinterested in the game. He was, at one point one of the premier broadcasters on television. He’s not anymore. We have all come to this conclusion about Al Michaels, why are we struggling to accept this for Bob?
Michael Kay is awful too. You can both go away
He’s a legend for sure, I just never liked him calling games.
Gah damn Mike, in some states you can be fined for dickriding that hard.
Yeah because I’m going to listen to fuckin Michael Kay. That guy sucks so hard
Last years playoffs I remember thinking he had a very hard time being impartial. Dbacks would hit a big home run and he would be like “and there’s a home run for the dbacks… anyway let me get back to talking about why the dodgers are so great and going to win.”
41 comments
Ok, no, he’s definitely gotten worse. He calls games now like he’s trying to be a baseball historian rather than a baseball broadcaster.
I think he’s lost a step but Costas is a legend. He’s in Cars. Can’t get much more legendary than that
Two of the more annoying commentators to sit through this postseason.
Problem was him going about narratives DURING pitches.
Come on.
I personally enjoy his tone and style, I know a lot of people on this sub don’t. But I really didn’t like what he actually talks about. I think its pretty clear he doesn’t follow the game like he once used to.
Is it possible, and stay with me here, to be a legend who has fallen off? To lose a step? Or do legends get a free pass forever?
Also, Michael Kay is an insufferable dweeb
I like Costas as an ambassador for the sport. His promotion for baseball is well documented and has been for several decades. There’s no complaints I have about that.
The problem Bob has is…how many baseball games does he call per season? He only calls a handful of regular season games and then one playoff series. He doesn’t do it very often, so I don’t know what people are expecting as far as his sharpness behind the mic and all that stuff is concerned. And he didn’t call any baseball games for probably a good 15 years or so after NBC lost their coverage rights. So he doesn’t call many games and hasn’t called many in “today’s” MLB.
It’s just not a recipe for success.
Asking Kay about the quality of a broadcaster is like asking Paulie Shore about the quality of an actor.
There were moments where we got the old Costas back when he was telling good stories about Buck O’Neil and the negro leagues. But then he immediately reminded us that Stanton’s slow. So yeah costas has declined a bit.
I didn’t real the whole article but if they’re saying our generation doesn’t have the attention span of previous ones that’s obviously not true.
*was
I loved hearing his voice during games. It was relaxing, and it was interesting to hear the stories he had to tell about players.
But he has definitely lost a step. His play-by-plsy calls have no emotion, and he’s become boring to listen to.
As someone who was a big fan of Costas, the man needs to retire.
This is 100% true. I saw it with Chris Berman a decade ago.
Costas is annoying in his own right but I think of the TBS broadcast wasn’t also noticeably bad on a technical level then Costas wouldn’t have come off as bad either. They are independent factors that combined into a terrible TV product.
I’ll say it again – Olympics Costas>Baseball Costas
I love Costas’ style of announcing and I think the hate is overblown. THAT SAID, I think it’s pretty clear he’s not following the league as closely as he once did. Still incredibly knowledgeable about the history (which is valuable in a national broadcast) and he’s kept up with the major players/storylines/trends, but I think the average poster on this sub is probably deeper in at this point than Costas is. I can totally see how that would rub people the wrong way, to feel like the guy who’s talking about the game isn’t as clued in as they are (or at least isn’t talking like he is).
My counterpoint is that, it’s a national broadcast and a lot of the people who are watching don’t follow super closely. Those people are getting all the info they need to follow the game from Costas and Darling.
I also just don’t need every announcer to be Dave Niehaus. The game is exciting on its own, there doesn’t always have to be someone losing their mind in the booth for me to enjoy it. The guys who get crazy excited are great, but I appreciate the variety
The best description I’ve heard of Bob Costas announcing recently is that it sounds like the network is using an AI generated version of Costas voice to call the game.
Michael Kay sucks, but a lot of y’all want this hyper-aggro, super-dramatic, Real Housewives version of baseball that doesn’t make sense with a nine month pre-regular-and-postseason. Baseball’s about history and how the moment fits into that history. Costas has lost a step maybe, but baseball fans need to chill out.
We can respect that he’s a legend while acknowledging that his style no longer meets the moment in a postseason TV broadcast. Two things can be true here.
Lol he was atrocious for the ALDS, and I’ve listened to Bob for decades. He is much better suited for interviews and long form content. His energy is nowhere near what it should be for playoff sports.
I’ve gone from a Michael Kay defender to never wanting to hear one of his shit takes ever again so damn fast these past couple weeks. Dudes like speedrunning cranky old man status.
I don’t know how you can listen to his home run call, him proceed to fuck up Stantons first name, and say he’s still good up in the booth.
Reading this whole page in Bob Costas’ voice and cadence.
I totally agree. He hasn’t changed. But the people watching now don’t seem to like it.
He’s still better than Joe Buck.
Bob Costas and Al Michaels calling the Baseketball championship will always be the GOAT in broadcasting
He’ll never be as bad as fucking Ron Darling or John Smoltz though
I wouldn’t expect any other opinion from that hack (How dare he disrespect the best crew: Gary, Keith & Ron).
I appreciate Costas for his career…but anyone listening to him for that series have to agree he was insufferable.
Nobody could ever regress!!! That’s impossible!!
Oh no. They’ve eviscerated a god. A broadcasting god. Those young people. Those horrible young people. It’s always the young people. They won’t let us be snarky old pricks. They’re out of their minds.
Imo, sync up w your local radio crew and enjoy the game. Problem solved.
He does games now like he’s in a Ken Burns documentary.
Imagine being a grown man and referring to someone as a “broadcasting god”. That is sooo cringe
Bobs the same old Bob. I think most are probably under the age of 30 commenting tbh.
I honestly don’t know why people get worked up over Costas, Kay is right. He’s always been a windbag, just like Kay. But he’s a treasure trove of knowledge and stories, and people should try listening more.
Hot take: most announcers are fine and people just like their hometown crew and exaggerate the problems of anyone besides that.
It’s not just young people. It’s abundantly clear Costas is disinterested in the game. He was, at one point one of the premier broadcasters on television. He’s not anymore. We have all come to this conclusion about Al Michaels, why are we struggling to accept this for Bob?
Michael Kay is awful too. You can both go away
He’s a legend for sure, I just never liked him calling games.
Gah damn Mike, in some states you can be fined for dickriding that hard.
Yeah because I’m going to listen to fuckin Michael Kay. That guy sucks so hard
Last years playoffs I remember thinking he had a very hard time being impartial. Dbacks would hit a big home run and he would be like “and there’s a home run for the dbacks… anyway let me get back to talking about why the dodgers are so great and going to win.”
The younger generation complains about everything