Throughout the American League divisional series between the Yankees and the Guardians, debates have raged about the broadcast style of longtime play-by-play man Bob Costas.
Perhaps no one has stronger feelings on the matter than New York-based radio personality Mike Francesa.
After both Games 3 and 4 of the ALDS between New York and Cleveland, Francesa released podcasts on the BetRivers network that contained rants about Costas’s talkative broadcast style. Saturday, following a Yankees loss, the radio host was referencing the power of Yankees outfielder Harrison Bader when he launched into an impassioned segment on the iconic, but long-winded broadcaster.
“Costas, who will not be quiet no matter what,” Francesa said after Game 3. “He thinks I guess that every word is golden because he just will not shut up. Everything’s a history lesson. We don’t need a history lesson every two seconds! Everybody’s a Yankees fan. They understand Yankees history. They know it backwards and forwards. This is not a history class. It’s a baseball game. Be quiet! Do the game!
“He’s driving everybody crazy. He must’ve said a thousand times, ‘The Yankee home runs…’ We know the Yankees have doubled their home runs this year! We know the [Guardians] hit 127 homers and Yankees 254. We know that! Everybody knows it! Make the point once, not 4,000 times!”
Francesa dialed back his criticism after New York’s Game 4 victory, but still relished the idea of the series coming to a close and Costas’s play-by-play responsibilities being over and done with.
“Just gotta get through one more game of Bob talking so much,” he said. “I feel bad for Ron [Darling]. Ron’s gonna hear Bob in his sleep. Listen, we all know that Bob Costas is a very talented announcer, a talented sportscaster, I’ve known him my whole adult life,” Francesa said. “But he has absolutely just talked on and on and on and just droned on and on and on this entire series about absolutely nothing, for the most part. I mean, just please give the game tomorrow night a chance to breathe, please, it’s a Game 5, it’s a dramatic series, a dramatic fifth and deciding game.
“Let it breathe, Bob please. You’ve squeezed this thing for all its life. It’s almost like Bob has been locked away somewhere, dying to talk, and now you can’t shut him up, because he just has not stopped talking for a second in the Yankees series. Not even a little has he stopped talking. About everything! No matter what it is, he just never stops. Please, let the dramatic Game 5 breathe a little bit.”
Time will tell if Francesa’s wish comes true in Game 5.
