In Cooperstown, New York, late this afternoon, Bob Costas was inducted into the broadcasters wing of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum as the 2018 winner of the Ford C. Frick Award. The 66-year old Costas, the long-time announcer for NBC Sports, has won well over 20 Sports Emmy Awards and has been named the National Sportscaster of the Year 8 times.
In his career, Costas has called games for Major League Baseball since 1980 and, at NBC, also had pre-game and post-game host duties for multiple post-season series.
In the world of sports, Costas has done it all but baseball was originally and remains forever his first love. If you’ve ever seen Ken Burns’ brilliant PBS series “Baseball,” you know how much Costas loves the game. He has a nearly encyclopedic knowledge of the sport, which helps him immensely when calling games. There’s only a handful of announcers in baseball history who can weave history into a broadcast the way Costas does.
Now in a state of semi-retirement, most of Costas’ work is in baseball, hosting specials and calling games for MLB Network.
For Costas, winning the Frick Award is the ultimate honor. At his press conference and in his speech today upon receiving the award, he noted that the first call he received was from the ’82 Frick Award winner, the legendary Dodgers announcer Vin Scully. Minutes later, he was called by the 2015 Frick Award winner, Dick Enberg, who sadly passed away just weeks later.
With his induction into the Hall of Fame’s broadcaster’s wing, I took a look at the big games he called while at NBC. He did play- by-play for baseball at the Peacock network from 1980-2000. My original intent was to simply compile the top 10 calls. However, while researching the piece, two things occurred to me. The first was, why limit it to just 10 when there are so many to choose from? The second thought was that others might not agree with my 10 selections.
How to Navigate thiz Chronology of Bob Costas’ Baseball Announcing Career
In this piece, I’m going to go through Costas’ career chronologically, sharing some of the biggest baseball moments he’s had the pleasure to share with the audience. There are dozens of links in this piece. As I go through the calls of Costas’ career year by year, I’ll highlight what I feel are the 10 greatest games he’s called, including multiple clips for some of them.
You’ll note that virtually all of these game calls below are from the post-season or the All-Star Game. They’re much easier to research. If you remember a classic regular season game that Costas called that I missed, please, please, let me know. I’ll revise and include.
If you’re a Bob Costas fan, I encourage you to bookmark this page. You won’t find another place on the internet with a more complete set of links to the baseball history described in the words of this great broadcaster. In some cases, where available, entire broadcasts are linked for posterity.
Let’s begin!
The Early Years
Bob Costas began his broadcasting career while in school at Syracuse. His first professional assignment was to call NFL and NBA games for CBS Sports from 1976-79. He was hired by NBC Sports in 1980. Here’s how he described his debut calling baseball for NBC at the press conference after his Frick Award was announced. Costas here is referring to a game he called on October 4, 1980.
“The first game I did for NBC was the last Saturday of the 1980 baseball season. Don Ohlmeyer, who was running NBC, knew of my love for baseball and tried to work me in on some of the backup games. The Yankees were playing the Tigers, and now here I am 28 year old kid, shaking like a leaf, at Yankee Stadium. It’s the backup game, the ones that go to places if there’s a rainout. The Phillies were playing the Expos (in the primary game), but the game was delayed by rain for four hours. I remember Reggie Jackson hit a home run in to the upper deck and Goose Gossage retired the side in the ninth, the Yankees clinched the AL East and the game went to the entire country. And there must have been some guy in Tacoma scratching his head saying, who the hell is doing this game?”
— Bob Costas (from baeballhall.org)
In 1982, Costas started working the NBC back up games on a full time basis, with former Oakland A’s third baseman Sal Bando as his color man. For years, Joe Garagiola and Tony Kubek formed NBC’s primary broadcast duo. In 1983, however, the network hired longtime Dodgers announcer Vin Scully (the 1982 Frick Award winner) to be their primary play-by-play man, with Garagiola shifting to color commentary.
The Scully-Garagiola pairing freed up Kubek to partner with Costas and the two worked together for years. Thanks to his work with Garagiola, Costas and others, Kubek was the 2009 Frick Award winner.
1983 ALCS: White Sox v Orioles
Costas and Kubek called their first post-season series together in 1983. It was the American League Championship Series between the Chicago White Sox and Baltimore Orioles. After splitting the first two games in Baltimore, the series moved to Comiskey Park for Game 3. In the top of the first inning, future Hall of Famer Eddie Murray blasted a titanic three-run home run to right field off Richard Dotson, the opening salvo in an 11-1 blowout, giving the O’s a 2-1 series lead. .
Game 4 was a pitcher’s duel. The game was scoreless after 9 innings. White Sox starter Britt Burns had tossed 9.1 innings of 6-hit ball. Up came a journeyman right fielder named Tito Landrum, who proceeded to launch a solo home run deep to left to break the tie. When you watch/listen the call, you’ll see/hear how Costas is able to turn a phrase and put some instant perspective on a mostly unknown player all within the time of a home run trot.
The Orioles scored two more runs in the 10th, winning the game 3-0, sending them to the World Series.
Bob Costas Greatest Game #1: Cardinals v Cubs (The “Sandberg” Game)
On June 23rd, 1984, Costas was on the microphone for what is famously known as the “Ryne Sandberg” game. It was a regular season tilt at Wrigley Field; the Cubs were hosting the St. Louis Cardinals. Future Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg, in the midst of his MVP campaign, had the greatest game of his career. It’s not just that Ryno went 5 for 7 with 2 home runs and 7 RBI, it’s when he delivered those hits.
In the bottom of the 6th, the Cubs were trailing 9-3. After an RBI single by Richie Hebner and a 2-run double by Bob Dernier, Sandberg delivered a 2-run single to score both Hebner and Dernier and pull the Cubs to within one run.
The score remained 9-8 until the bottom of the 9th inning. Former Cubs relief ace Bruce Sutter, in the midst of one the best of his Hall of Fame seasons, came into the contest for the Redbirds with a 1.16 ERA for the year. Sandberg proceeded to deposit Sutter’s offering into the left-center field bleachers to tie the score at 9, sending it into extra innings.
The Cards struck back, scoring two runs in the top of the 10th off Cubs closer Lee Smith to take an 11-9 lead.
Sutter was still on the mound in the bottom of the 11th. He walked Dernier and up came Sandberg again, who proceeded to blast a two-run homer to tie the score at 11. Chicago would go on to win the contest 12-11 in 12 innings, a signature win in a magical season that sent the Cubbies to the playoffs for the first time since 1945.
Costas today called it the most significant regular season that he ever called in his career. Costas, who saw Sandberg at dinner just a couple of nights ago, mentioned that the Hall of Famer always refers to that game as the one that “put him on the map.”
Bob Costas Greatest Game #2: 1985 ALCS Game 2
In October 1985, Costas had to privilege to call the matchup of the Toronto Blue Jays and Kansas City Royals, who engaged in one of the forgotten classic playoff series. 1985 was the first year that the LCS contests went 7 games instead of 5 and the Royals instantly took advantage of the new format.
The Jays, still a young franchise in their 9th year of existence, were in their first post-season. Game 2, at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto, was a classic.
The Jays took a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the 8th on a sacrifice fly from George Bell (off Royals’ closer Dan Quisenberry). Then, in the top of the 9th, pinch hitting for right fielder Daryl Motley, Pat Sheridan hit a game-tying solo HR off the Jays’ closer Tom Henke.
In the top of the 10th, the Royals struck again. Willie Wilson opened the frame with a single and then stole second base as Henke was striking out Hal McRae. Frank White then singled up the middle to score Wilson and give the Royals a 5-4 lead.
In the bottom of the 10th, Quisenberry returned for his 3rd inning of work. Tony Fernandez led off with an infield hit, advancing to 2nd on a ground out by Damaso Garcia. The next batter, Lloyd Moseby, tied the game with a RBI single to right field. Quisenberry then picked off Moseby but, on an error by first baseman Steve Balboni, Moseby made it to 2nd base.
That set the stage for veteran Al Oliver‘s walk-off RBI single which gave the Jays a 6-5 win and 2-0 series lead. 1985 was the last season in Oliver’s distinguished 18-year MLB career.
If you have lots of spare time, you can enjoy a full recap of this game in two parts: Part I of the broadcast takes you up to Jesse Barfield’s game-tying single in the 6th, Part II will take you the rest of the way.
The Royals and Jays split Games 3 and 4, putting Toronto ahead 3 games to 1. The Royals, however, came back to win the last three games of the series, allowing them to return to the Fall Classic, where they won another 7-Game series, this time over their cross-state rivals in St. Louis.
Please enjoy this four-minute recap of this classic series, narrated by Costas.
1987 ALCS: Tigers v Twins
In October 1987, the Minnesota Twins completed the second leg of their improbable World Series run in the ALCS. The Twins, absent from post-season baseball since 1970, won just 85 games en route to winning the A.L. Central title. They were matched up against the 98-win Detroit Tigers, who had many star players remaining from their ’84 title run.
In Game 1, in front of the deafening Metrodome crowd, third baseman Gary Gary Gaetti belted two solo home runs off Tigers starter Doyle Alexander in a wild 8-5 Twins win. Alexander, you might recall, had been acquired by the Tigers for the stretch run in exchange for a minor league pitching prospect named John Smoltz. The veteran right hander delivered a 9-0 record with a 1.53 in 11 starts for Detroit. In this start, however, Alexander was tagged for 6 runs.
In the bottom of the 8th, with the Tigers clinging to a 5-4 lead, Kirby Puckett delivered a game-tying RBI double, sparking a 4-run rally that gave the Twins a 8-5 win.
The signature moment of the series came in In Game 3, back at Tiger Stadium, with the Twins up 2 games to none. The Twins were leading 6-5 with closer Jeff Reardon on the hill, ready to clinch the series.
The Tigers had other ideas. Outfielder Pat Sheridan hit a 2-run home run to give Detroit a 7-6 win and keep the series alive (Sheridan had a nose for big taters with Costas at the mic). In the video clip of the Sheridan home run, you might notice, waiting for him at the plate, Hall of Famer pitcher Jack Morris, who had pinch run for Larry Herndon.
The Game 3 come from behind win would not be the start of an epic comeback for Detroit. The Twins won Games 4 and 5, winning Game 5 by a 9-5 score, to get back to the World Series for the first time since 1965. Minnesota went on to win the Fall Classic in 7 games over the St. Louis Cardinals.
1994 All-Star Game
On July 12, 1994, one month before the strike that would cancel the entire 1994 post-season, Bob Costas called the All-Star Game at Three Rivers Stadium. 16 future Hall of Famers occupied the rosters for the 65th playing of the Mid-Summer Classic.
This was classic see-saw affair, featuring five lead changes. In the 9th, the American League had a 7-5 lead but the Braves’ Fred McGriff hit a two-run, game-tying home run off the Orioles’ Lee Smith. (An aside, McGriff is not one of the 16 Cooperstown enshrined players from this game but, in my opinion, the Crime Dog should be in the Hall).
In the bottom of the 11th, the late Tony Gwynn led off with a single. In a moment not quite but slightly reminiscent of the Ken Griffey Jr.’s mad dash in the 1995 ALDS, Gwynn raced from first to home to score the winning run on a walk-off double by the Expos’ Moises Alou. The 9-7 win ended the National League’s 6-game losing streak.
Bob Costas Greatest Game #3: 1995 ALDS Game 1 (Red Sox v Indians)
On October 3, 1995, Costas called the American League Division Series between the Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians with Bob Uecker, who was inducted into the broadcasters wing of the Hall of Fame in 2003. The Indians were heavy favorites, having gone 100-44 in the strike-shortened season.
Game 1 featured Roger Clemens on the bump for the Red Sox against Dennis Martinez, the best Cleveland starter even at age 41. Both starters pitched well but would not factor into the decision. The Indians had a 3-2 lead in the 8th but the Sox’ 9th place hitter, second baseman Luis Alicea, hit a solo home run off reliever Julian Tavarez to tie the score at 3.
The contest went to extra innings with the score still tied at 3. In the top of the 11th, Boston’s Tim Naehring hit a solo home run off Jim Poole to give the Sox a 4-3 lead. In the bottom of the frame, however, Cleveland’s Albert Belle responded with a solo blast of his own off the Sox’ Rick Aguilera to tie the score at 4.
The game continued until the 13th inning when the Indians’ backup catcher, veteran Tony Pena, blasted a walk-off homer off Zane Smith, giving Cleveland a 5-4 win. In the span of one home run call, Costas recapped what made the Indians so great in 1995. The Tribe proceeded to easily sweep the Red Sox in 3 games. Oh man!!
1995 ALCS: Indians vs Mariners
After the sweep of the Red Sox, Costas had the privilege to call the ALCS between Cleveland and Seattle. The Mariners were the feel-good story in this matchup, having prevailed in a stunning regular season comeback to win the A.L. West and in a thrilling 5-game ALDS against the New York Yankees.
At the time, home field advantage in the baseball playoffs was still decided on a random basis (rather than it is today by best record) so the series opened in Seattle. The teams split the first two games of the series.
In Game 3, at Jacobs Field in Cleveland, future Hall of Famer Randy Johnson, the ’95 A.L. Cy Young Award winner, was on the mound for the M’s. After 7 innings of one-run ball, Seattle had a 2-1 lead in the 8th but an error by outfielder Jay Buhner led to an unearned run that tied the score at 2. The game went to extra innings. In the top of the 11th, Buhner redeemed himself with a 3-run home run to give Seattle a 5-2 lead and, ultimately, the victory.
With Seattle up 2 games to 1, Cleveland came back to win the 4th game to tie the series at 2. In the pivotal Game 5, the Mariners had a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the 6th inning. With Chris Bosio on the hill for Seattle, the Indians’ 39-year old DH, future Hall of Famer Eddie Murray, hit a one-out double. The next batter, third baseman Jim Thome, delivered a long two-run home run to right field to give the Tribe a 3-2 lead. The game ended with the same score. Thome, of course, will be inducted into the Hall of Fame the day after Costas is enshrined into the broadcasters’ wing.
In Game 6, back in Seattle, Johnson matched up against the veteran Martinez. Johnson, although a bit weary from having pitched 5 times in the previous 18 days, pitched respectably (giving up 3 earned runs in 7.1 innings). When Carlos Baerga hit a solo home run in the 8th, the Big Unit was finished and, even in losing, the Seattle crowd showed their appreciation.
On the other side, El Presidente was superb, authoring 7 innings of shutout, 4-hit ball against the powerful Mariners’ lineup. The Indians would go on to win the game 4-0 and return to the World Series for the first time since 1954.
1995 World Series: Indians v Braves
In October 1995, after following the Indians through the ALDS and ALCS, Costas got to call his first World Series as the Tribe took on the perennial bridesmaids of October, the Atlanta Braves.
The telecasts of the 1995 Fall Classic were split between ABC and NBC as part of an odd relationship known as “The Baseball Network.” So, it allowed fans to alternatively hear the voices of Al Michaels (a future Frick winner for sure) and Costas. For the NBC games, Costas was joined in the booth by Uecker and Hall of Famer Joe Morgan.
Besides two all-time great play-by-play men, the ’95 World Series featured six Hall of Fame players (Thome, Murray, Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, Chipper Jones), Cooperstown-enshrined manager (the Braves’ Bobby Cox) and many other star players (including McGriff, Albert Belle, Kenny Lofton, Manny Ramirez, Orel Hershiser, and Martinez), some of whom may make the Hall in the future.
The series opened in Atlanta. Behind Maddux and Glavine, the Braves took the first two games of the series. The Braves were powered in Game 1 by McGriff (for fun we’ll include Michaels’ call here) and in Game 2 by catcher Javy Lopez.
Bob Costas Greatest Game #4: 1995 World Series Game 3
Game 3, at Jacobs Field in Cleveland, was a classic. The Indians had a 4-1 lead after 5 innings but then the Braves started chipping away. McGriff hit a solo home run to right field in the 6th followed by another solo blast by Ryan Klesko in the 7th. The Indians responded in the bottom of the frame on a Carlos Baerga RBI single and took a 5-3 lead.
In the top of the 8th, the Braves scored three runs, with an error by Baerga playing a key role. The Tribe responded, however, thanks to a game-tying RBI double by Sandy Alomar Jr. in the bottom of the 8th inning. The game was tied 6-6 after 9 innings.
In the bottom of the 11th, Baerga led off with a double to right center field, battling Alejandro Pena in a 9-pitch at bat. After an intentional walk to Belle, Eddie Murray capped off his Hall of Fame career with a walk-off, game-winning RBI single, giving the Tribe a 7-6 win.
You can watch the entire telecast of Game 3 by linking here.
Behind 4th starter Steve Avery, the Braves took Game 4. It looked like the series was over, with 4-time Cy Young Award winner Maddux taking the hill in Game 5. The Indians, however, weren’t ready to go away just yet, knocking around the Mad Dog for four runs. In the meantime, the Bulldog (the 37-year old Hershiser) tossed 8 innings of 2-run ball. The Tribe won 5-4.
Bob Costas Greatest Game #5: 1995 World Series Game 6
Back in Atlanta for Game 6, the pitching matchup featured Glavine and Martinez. The two starters matched zeroes into the 5th inning. In the bottom of the frame, Indians manager Mike Hargrove pulled El Presidente after allowing a walk and an infield single. With McGriff coming to the plate, Hargrove opted for left-handed reliever Jim Poole, who struck out the Crime Dog on three pitches.
David Justice broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the 6th with a solo home run off Poole. Meanwhile, Glavine was authoring the signature pitching performance of a career that would put him in Cooperstown, delivering 8 innings of scoreless ball, all while allowing just one hit and 3 walks.
In the 9th, closer Mark Wohlers pitched a perfect frame to give the Braves their first World Series title in the city of Atlanta.
For posterity, a link to an edited version of the telecast of Game 6 by linking here.
Bob Costas Greatest Game #6: 1996 ALCS Game 1
On October 9th, 1996, Costas, working again with Morgan and Uecker, was on play-by-play duties for the ALCS between the Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees.
In Game 1, in the bottom of the 8th, with the Yankees trailing 4-3, Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter hit a home run to right field off Armando Benitez to tie the score.
This is one of the most controversial home runs in post-season history because the ball was caught (in play) by a 12-year old Yankees fan named Jeffrey Maier. This is a fairly long clip as Costas discusses the play with his two color commentators. You’ll get the gist of what happened in the first 90 seconds.
19 years later, the glove Maier used to catch Jeter’s home run ball was auctioned off and fetched $22,705.
Anyway, with the score now tied at 4, the contest went to extra frames. After two scoreless innings by Mariano Rivera, Bernie Williams led off the bottom of the 11th and hit a 1-1 pitch from Randy Myers deep to left for a walk-off, game winning home run.
A link to the full telecast of Game 1 is included here.
The Yankees would go onto win the ’96 ALCS fairly easily, winning the series 4 games to 1, with Cecil Fielder and Darryl Strawberry hitting back to back blasts to power the Yanks in Game 5.
1997 World Series: Indians v Marlins
Costas got the opportunity to call his second World Series in 1997. The Baseball Network was gone so he called the whole series for NBC, joined again by Uecker and Morgan. On the field, the Indians were back to the Fall Classic to try again after failing in 1995. Their opponents were the Florida Marlins, the N.L. Wild Card entry, in just their fifth year of existence.
The teams split the first four games in Florida and Cleveland. In Game 5, the Indians had built a 4-2 lead going into the top of the 6th inning with the 39-year old Hershiser on the mound. With two outs and two runners on, Moises Alou blasted a three-run home run to center field to give the Marlins a 5-4 lead. The Fish went on to win Game 5 by a score of 8-7.
Bob Costas Greatest Game #7: 1997 World Series Game 7
Back in Florida, the Indians won Game 6, setting the table for one of the greatest Game 7 contests in World Series history. Behind rookie Jaret Wright, the Indians had a 2-0 lead after six innings, the runs via a two-run single by second baseman Tony Fernandez in the 3rd off Al Leiter.
In the top of the 7th, Bobby Bonilla launched a solo home run to right field to pull the Marlins with one run.
So, the Tribe had a 2-1 lead entering the bottom of the 9th inning. Two-time All-Star closer Jose Mesa came into the game to close it out. Alou singled to lead off the inning. After a Bonilla strikeout, Charles Johnson hit a single to right, sending Alou to third. Then, second baseman Craig Counsell, a 26-year old rookie, delivered a game-tying sacrifice fly deep to right field. Game 7 of the World Series went to extra innings.
In the bottom of the 11th, starting pitcher Charles Nagy (being used in relief) was on the hill for Cleveland. Thanks in part to an error by second baseman Tony Fernandez, the Marlins had the bases loaded with two outs. Up to the plate came the Marlins’ shortstop, Edgar Renteria. The 20-year old native of Barranquilla, Columbia, delivered a game-winning RBI single straight up the middle to score Counsell from third.
The Florida Marlins, in just their 5th year of existence, had a World Championship, something that eluded one of the great teams of the 1990’s, the Cleveland Indians.
I’m including a link here to the entire NBC broadcast of Game 7 of the 1997 World Series. If you have 4 hours with nothing to do, take a look. Or, if you don’t, just watch the first two minutes, the open to the telecast, narrated by Costas and set to the music of Jerry Goldsmith from the movie Air Force One. Then scroll to the 11th inning to watch the full drama unfold.
“It had what all good sports stories have. It had heroics, and it also had pathos. It also had a lot of people who did really great things, then at the last minute things took a terrible turn for them. I was in (Brewers’ manager) Craig Counsell’s office a few weeks ago, doing a Brewers-Cubs game, and I talked to him before the game…
I use a big scorecard… with oversized boxes for each at bat and with all kind of spaces to write in notes so I’m not leafing through a thousand things, it’s all right in front of me. So Counsell said, ‘wow, that’s some scorecard!” And I said ‘it’s the same scorecard I used in 1997 when you drove home the tying run in the 9th and scored the winning run in the 11th.”
— Bob Costas, Hall of Fame press conference, July 28, 2018
1998 ALCS: Indians v Yankees
In October 1998, Bob Costas called the ALCS between the Indians and the New York Yankees. This wasn’t a particularly memorable series but there were some significant moments and calls by the Frick Award winner.
The Yankees had won 114 games in the regular season, the third most for any team in baseball history. The Indians, who went 89-73, won the AL Central for the 4th straight season but came in the decided underdog.
The two teams split the first two games of the series in New York, with the Indians winning in 12 innings in Game 2. In Game 3, Manny Ramirez, Jim Thome and Mark Whiten all hit solo home runs in the 5th inning off Yankees’ ace Andy Pettitte en route to a 6-1 victory.
The Yankees won both Games 4 & 5, making Game 6 a do-or-die tilt for the Indians. The Yanks had a 6-0 lead in the 5th inning with 20-game winner David Cone on the mound but the Tribe scored 5 runs in the top of the 5th, powered by a grand slam by Thome.
New York came back to score 3 runs in the bottom of the 6th to take a 9-5 lead. Three innings later, Mariano Rivera was brought on to finish the game and tossed a perfect frame to send the Yankees back to the Fall Classic.
1999 NLCS: Mets v Braves
In October 1999, Costas had the call for the NLCS between the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets. The Braves, who had won 103 games and eight straight N.L. East titles, were heavy favorites. Meanwhile, the Mets were in the playoffs for the first time in 11 years.
The Braves won the first 3 games of the series and, with post-season ace John Smoltz on the hill for Game 4, it looked like a sweep was in the offing. Rick Reed mostly matched the future Hall of Famer and the Mets were able to prevail 3-2 by scoring 2 runs in the 8th off reliever John Rocker. By pulling out Game 4, the Mets and Braves were set up for a pair of wild contests.
Bob Costas Greatest Game #8: 1999 NLCS Game 5
In Game 5 at Shea Stadium, Maddux was on the hill for the Braves to close out the series, matched up against 34-year old Masato Yoshii from Japan. John Olerud, the Mets first baseman, hit a first-inning two-run home run to score Rickey Henderson. Yes, in case you had forgotten, the 40-year old Man of Steal was the Mets’ left fielder and leadoff hitter in 1999.
A RBI double by Chipper Jones followed by an run-scoring single by Brian Jordan tied the score at 2 in the top of the 4th. That would be the end of the scoring for a long time; the teams matched zeroes for 10 innings.
In the top of the 15th inning, the Braves took a 3-2 lead on an RBI triple by Keith Lockhart.
In the bottom of the 15th, reliever Kevin McGlinchy walked the bases loaded to tie the score at 3. That brought up veteran Robin Ventura. On a 2-1 pitch, Ventura hit one of the longest singles in baseball history (scroll to about 1:40 for the big moment). Ventura’s blast sure looked like a grand slam but went into the record books as a single because the Mets’ players were mobbing their third baseman, who never made it past first base.
With the walk-off victory, the Mets kept the series alive, sending it back to Atlanta.
Bob Costas Greatest Game #9: 1999 NLCS Game 6
Game 6, at Turner Field in Atlanta, was another wild one. The Braves had built up a 5-0 lead until the top of the 6th, when the Mets scored 3 times. Atlanta countered with 2 runs in the bottom of the 6th to build the lead back to 7-3. Bobby Cox brought one of his future Hall of Fame starting pitchers, John Smoltz, out of the bullpen to protect the lead.
Smoltz is one of the greatest post-season pitchers of all-time but this wasn’t his night. A RBI double by Henderson and a RBI single by Olerud cut the score back to 7-5. The next batter, Mike Piazza, in one of the great moments of his Hall of Fame career, blasted a two-run home run to right field to tie the score at 7.
8th inning RBI singles by the Mets’ Melvin Mora and the Braves’ Brian Hunter made the score 8-8 and sent the contest into extra innings for the second game in a row. The teams traded runs again in the 10th, with Todd Pratt hitting a sacrifice fly for the Mets and Ozzie Guillen a RBI single for the Braves.
In the bottom of the 11th inning, Mets manager Bobby Valentine brought in his 8th pitcher of the game, left-handed starter Kenny Rogers. Left fielder Gerald Williams led of the inning with a double to left field on an 0-2 curve ball.
After a bunt moved Williams to 3rd, Valentine elected to walk the next two batters, leaving the bases loaded for Andruw Jones. The Braves center fielder worked the count full; Rogers’ 3-2 offering was high and outside. The bases loaded walk gave the Braves a 10-9 victory and their fifth trip to the Fall Classic in the ’90’s.
Bob Costas Greatest Game #10: 1999 World Series Game 3: Braves v Yankees
in 1999, NBC Sports had the rights to the World Series for the final time. The series opened in Atlanta, with the Yankees winning the first two games fairly easily. Game 3 at Yankee Stadium featured a matchup of two left-handers, Andy Pettitte and Tom Glavine. The Braves took a 5-1 lead fairly early, knocking Pettitte out in the 4th inning.
The Yankees started chipping away against Glavine with a solo home run by Chad Curtis in the 5th and another by Tino Martinez in the 7th. In the bottom of the 8th, second baseman Chuck Knoblauch hit a short-porch Yankee Stadium home run that barely cleared the right field wall, tying the score at 5.
After the Knoblauch tater, closers John Rocker and Mariano Rivera matched zeroes for two innings, sending the game into extra innings. Curtis led off the 10th against lefty reliever Mike Remlinger. On a 1-1 pitch, Curtis smashed it deep to left field for a walk-off home run, his second of the game, winning the game 6-5 and giving the Yankees a 3-0 series lead (scroll to 1:15 to get to the big moment).
The Bronx Bombers won Game 4 fairly easily, with Clemens out-pitching Smoltz. The Yanks won the game 4-1, with Rivera closing it out for his sixth save of the post-season and 18th consecutive scoreless playoff outing.
2000 ALCS: Mariners v Yankees
In October 2000, Costas had his final opportunity to call a pennant-deciding game. This was the last year that NBC Sports would be in the baseball business. Costas was on the microphone for the ALCS matchup between the Yankees and the Mariners, a rematch of their classic ’95 ALDS series.
This series didn’t have nearly the same drama as the ’95 edition but a couple of noteworthy games. In Game 4, Clemens struck out 15 batters to lead the Yankees to a 5-0 victory and a 3-1 series lead.
After the Mariners won Game 5, New York had an opportunity to close out the series at home in the Bronx. Coming into the bottom of the 7th inning, the M’s had a 4-3 lead. With two runners on base, Seattle manager Lou Piniella brought a left-handed reliever (Arthur Rhodes) to face the Bombers’ lefty-swinging David Justice. On a 3-1 pitch, Justice hit a long three-run home run to right field to give the Yankees a 6-4 lead, one they would not relinquish.
Rivera closed it out with a scoreless 9th inning to send the Yankees back to their 4th World Series appearance in 5 years, a Subway Series matchup against the New York Mets, who had already won the National League Pennant.
NBC Sports hasn’t broadcast a baseball game since 2000 and so Costas for years was unable to call games for the sport that he loves above all others. In recent years, however, in semi-retirement, Costas has been the lead voice on the MLB Network’s “Showcase” Games, working sometimes with Smoltz, sometimes with Jim Kaat.
Occasionally, we have the pleasure of hearing him call a Division Series game. It’s not much but still great when the soon-to-be-inducted Frick Award winner is on the microphone.
That’s it, a recap of 18 years of big moments called by the soon-to-be-inducted Ford C. Frick Award winner, Bob Costas.
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