MLB Hall of Fame: Bob Costas inspires the 1988 Dodgers

Today, Bob Costas is honored by the MLB Hall of Fame with the Ford C. Frick Award. His baseball broadcasting career is long and storied, but no doubt, the biggest moment of note with Costas in the game came in the 1988 World Series

It is fitting that 30 years after the Los Angeles Dodgers made an improbable run to a World Series championship that brought Bob Costas into the forefront as a baseball journalist, he would be honored by the MLB Hall of Fame with the Ford C. Frick Award.

Like many great sports journalists, Bob Costas began his MLB Hall of Fame career by attending Syracuse University, a seeming breeding ground for sports journalists. While still in school, he began to broadcast minor league hockey. After school, Costas became well-known as the voice of the St. Louis Spirits in the American Basketball Association. The team and league were both very colorful, and Costas covered them well, earning him a chance with NBC sports.

Costas served as play-by-play man for NBC’s baseball coverage for nearly 20 years while NBC has baseball rights, and some of his calls became iconic, like his “Do you believe it?!” call of a Ryne Sandberg home run in 1984.

His love of the game has always been incredibly obvious, such that he was even considered as a possible baseball commissioner (and many may prefer him over Rob Manfred!). However, the moment in 1988 cemented his baseball legacy.

The 1988 World Series

The 1988 Los Angeles Dodgers were a Cinderella story the entire season. The team statistically had remarkably good pitching, with three starters with ERAs under 3 and the top 5 relievers all with ERAs under 3.15. The offense wasn’t amazing, though Kirk Gibson had a brilliant year, winning the MVP, hitting .290/.377/.483 with 25 home runs and 31 stolen bases.

Costas was the play-by-play man for the World Series that season. When it became clear that Kirk Gibson would be too injured to start a game during the series, even though the Dodgers had won the first two games, Costas saw the A’s take game 3 with their top pitchers coming up the next two games at home, and he expressed concern about the Dodgers’ chances. This was after Kirk Gibson had already had his magical home run in game 1 of the series. Now that the A’s had overcome that, wouldn’t this “team of destiny” polish things off against an inferior lineup?

The Dodgers caught wind of Costas’ comments, and manager Tommy Lasorda turned his words into a roaring team chant of “Kill Costas!” The inspired Dodgers came out in game 4, scored 2 runs in the first inning off of Oakland ace Dave Stewart, and they pulled off a 4-3 win. After a 5-2 game 5 victory, the Dodgers were World Series champions, and Costas had a MLB Hall of Fame moment.

So as the MLB Hall of Fame honors Bob Costas today, certainly this story will come up, and while it’s a notable moment in his career, Costas has a tremendous love for the game and has shown his passion for baseball many times over, which is why he’s being honored!