Costas or Michaels?

[Elvis]

I was just pondering...

Since Bob Costas and Al Michaels are now with the same network, if NBC got baseball back, who would you prefer as the #1 play by play man?

I kind of grew up with them both and like them both.

[wamby]

They both give me a headache, but if I had to pick I would choose Michaels.

[Captain Cold Nose]

Michaels, to me, is the more professional and least prone to bias of the two.

[Tigerfan1974]

I think Costas is far superior to Michaels, especially in baseball.

I think Costas could/should be MLB Commissioner. He is a great baseball mind.

If you want the best national baseball announcer though, you need to go to FOX and get Joe Buck.

(personally, nobody beats Ernie Harwell!)

[Baseball Guru]

I think Costas is far superior to Michaels, especially in baseball.

I think Costas could/should be MLB Commissioner. He is a great baseball mind.



I totally agree.. I grew up listening to Costas and Kubek and LOVED them... Loved Costas' book as well... I find him entertaining and very knowledgeable about the sport!

[KCGHOST]

I don't think we could go wrong with either Michaels or Costas. I voted for Costas because he has demonstrated a much greater love of the game.

[2007wschamps]

Definitely Bob Costas. He used to give alot of great analysis.

[64Cards]

Would there be anything wrong with having them both do play by play, each guy doing 4 1/2 innings and then doing the commentary for the other guy? That's how they used to do the WS years ago.

I've never thought baseball is that difficult to analyze. The problem is to know when to shut up.

[callingit]

I love Al Michaels style & professionalism. He is the consummate broadcaster, and truly captures the emotion of the moment he's calling. He's witty without being condescending and almost always knows when to shut up and let his analyst take over.

Costas is likable, sure, but seems to work at keeping an even keel, keeping the emotions in check. I don't like screamers at the mic but there is nothing wrong with getting caught up in the excitement of a great sports moment, and Costas goes out of his way to remain neutral at all times.

[johnny]

He is my Mary Ann to Michaels as Ginger.
I think they are both very top notch professionals but Costas has a greater appreciation of the history of the game. With that said, if you go outside to Football play by play I like Michaels better.

[efin98]

Both have their drawbacks.

Michaels tries too hard to be the soundbite of the night while Costas tries too hard to project his understanding of the game to others.

I'd go with Costas over Michaels. I don't want a guy trying to dominate the broadcast, I want a guy who is part of the moment.

Frankly I don't think NBC would put Costas as the lead over Michaels. Costas would more than likely be relegated to pregame shows where he can do alot more for the telecasts than just describing the action...Unlike Michaels who is really just a play by play guy.

[Erik Bedard]

I'd take Michaels over Costas. Michaels is a better play-by-play guy, but that doesn't mean that Costas is bad.

[The Commissioner]

I am frankly shocked that this poll is even this close. As much as I agree that Costas does have some negatives, he at least 1) stays sober and 2) leaves his political viewpoints at home. Frankly I would have rather seen NBC retain the rights to Oswald the Rabbit and have heard him doing play by play.

[ElCaminoSS]

Definitely Costas, al michaels reminds me of Skeletor

[Brownie31]

Definitely Other. Without Other, the choice is smug and superior (Costas) or loud and brassy (Michaels). Brownie31

[Old Hoss Radbourn]

Can we bring Curt Gowdy back from the dead? :noidea

My vote went to Costas simply because he carries a '58 Mantle Topps card around in his wallet, so he probably loves baseball more. He should get points for that, at least. :dance

[Rennie Stennett]

I long for the days when sports announcers just told you what happened. Today, color guys over do it. They feel like they have to say something, all the time. They get into that, I told you so thing that is so annoying.

My favorite ? Former Cubs color guy, Steve Stone, who now does some regional games for espn. He and Chip Carey did a great job. Both had mastery of the English language and they both believed that brevity and to the point is best. When a guy kicked a ball or was playing bad, they would say it, which is refreshing. The Cubs ownership did not like them being totally honest. It's sad, in today's game, most of the broadcasters are employed by the team and not the radio or TV stations. In Seattle, we have the worst two there is with Rick Rizz.

[Rennie Stennett]

I'm assuming you're referring to Ron Fairly as the other half of the terrible two.

I was thinking Dave Neihaus, but I forgot about Ron Fairly. Ron Fairly over states the obvious and is an average color guy. I enjoy him more when he's on his own (it's rare) doing the play-by-play. I also enjoy it when Ron and Dave Henderson talk about what it was like in their own eras and compare it to today's era. Henderson is a great color guy, but he only does about 25% of the games, that are on fox. I don't know if he has other interests that limit him, but I wish he was on every night. He's great at telling you what the ball players are thinking and the finer points of the game.

[moldyoldie]

I voted for Al Michaels only because Costas has this tendency to over-intellectualize what is essentially a kid's game played by millionaire adults. By no means do I think Michaels is perfect, however.

Rick Rizz had the unfortunate ignominy of replacing the beloved Ernie Harwell in Detroit for one season. Then-Tigers VP Bo Schembechler thought Ernie couldn't relate to younger listeners.:evil Yeah, give me a break!

Is Rizz still calling homeruns with "Bye-bye baseball!"?

[Rennie Stennett]

Is Rizz still calling homeruns with "Bye-bye baseball!"?

Good bye baseball !

Can you believe it !

This guy comes to the ballpark early everyday, works really hard, just a great guy. Hard worker.

The most annoying thing rizz does is basically summarizes or repeats everything the color guys says on every play, like we didn't hear it the first time.

[tmc_6882]

During NBC's baseball hey-day in the 1980s, Bob Costas was the number two play-by-play man (Tony Kubek as you may recall was Costas' partner) behind Vin Scully (who teamed with Joe Garagiola and then, Tom Seaver). During that period, I think the only time that Costas did any pregame show (if I have my facts straight, Marv Albert often hosted the pregame shows during the regular season) hosting was for the World Series and All-Star Game. Maybe if or when NBC regains a baseball contract, they'll have Al Michaels be the #1 PBP man and Costas the #2 PBP man.