Bob Costas calls the Yankees-Royals ALDS a big breakthrough for New York

Bob Costas will be the lead play-by-play man for TBS' broadcast of the American League Division Series between the Kansas City Royals and New York Yankees. How happy you are to hear that the news depends less on your opinion of Costas and more on who you root for on the show.

If you're rooting for the Royals, Costas ending the series might not be good news. This is the case even if you are a fan of Costas. Conversely, if you choose the Yankees if Costas finishes the series, it's fantastic news – even if you're not a particularly big fan of Costas' style. Because when Costas calls the Yankees in the playoffs, they win.

Since 1995, Costas appeared in 34 Yankees playoff games. That's more than any announcer except Joe Buck, who's 90. New York is 26-8 in those games. The 26 wins are again ahead of Buck (50). However, the eight losses are only the fourth most of any announcer, behind Buck (40), Brian Anderson (13) and Ernie Johnson (10). The comparisons to Anderson and Johnson are more notable because Costas has played in far more Yankees postseason games than Anderson and Johnson. who called 19 and 18 respectively.

There’s even better news for the Yankees and their fans. When Costas calls the final game of the series, history has it that the Yankees will be the team celebrating. Costas played in seven crucial games for the Yankees. This is also second only to Buck. But while Buck declared another decisive win for the Yankees, he also announced seven series-ending losses. Costas, on the other hand, has not yet named any.

Bob Costas is on duty for the Royals-Yankees ALDS series and could be the Yankees' lucky charm.
Yankees postseason record by commentator since 1995 (number of series winners compared to number of postseason eliminations in parentheses): pic.twitter.com/tTX9IhKnvM

— Sports TV News and Updates (@TVSportsUpdates) October 5, 2024

The New York series victories that Costas demanded came in the 1996 ALCS (Baltimore Orioles), 1998 ALDS (Texas Rangers), 1998 ALCS (then Cleveland Indians), 1999 ALDS (Texas Rangers), 1999 World Series (Atlanta Braves) and 2000 ALCS (Seattle Mariners) and 2022 ALDS (Cleveland Guardians).

(Sports TV news and updates on X)