Bob Costas to Call Yankee Game for YES as Michael Kay Nears Return

He can’t give you five innings, but the New York Yankees have made an accomplished acquisition near the MLB trade deadline.

Renowned sportscaster and host Bob Costas will call a game for YES Network. Costas and YES president of programming and production confirmed the news to Andrew Marchand of the New York Post.

Costas’ four-decade tenure with NBC Sports was confirmed to have ended in January. He has since remained active in baseball media through play-by-play and hosting duties on MLB Network. His YES debut will come on Saturday, as the Yankees battle the Boston Red Sox in The Bronx. Costas will call one game of a day-night doubleheader.

The arrival of Costas comes as the Yankees’ traditional voice, Michael Kay, is set to return from a medical leave of absence. Kay has not called a game since June after having vocal cord surgery. He has been literally muted ever since, keeping him from his duties with YES and on his show on ESPN Radio’s New York affiliate. According to Marchand, Kay is nearing a return and will figure out his options after visiting his doctor on Wednesday. YES studio host Ryan Rucco has primarily handled Yankee play-by-play duties while Kay recovers.

Though this will be his first game as part of the crew on YES, Costas, 67, has been the television voice behind many moments in Yankee history. For example, he had the call for the aforementioned MLB Network during Derek Jeter’s final Yankee Stadium at-bat in 2014. Costas also called several major moments on the Yankee timeline during his NBC tenure, including the 1996 American League Championship Series and the 1999 World Series.