Since 2005, Bob Carpenter has been the voice of Nationals baseball. Throughout the ups and downs of the franchise, his commentating has never faltered to leave fans satisfied.
At the beginning of the 2025 MLB Season, the 72 year old Carpenter, announced that the upcoming season would be his last. This didn’t exactly come as a surprise to Nationals fans, as Carpenter had been broadcasting sports for 47 years, as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals with legendary broadcast announcer, Jack Buck. He also served as a part of MLB on ESPN’s broadcast team in the 90’s, along with Jack’s son, Joe Buck.
Carpenter has a list of accolades and accomplishments as he reaches retirement. These include two EMMY awards, a spot in the Oklahoma Broadcasting Hall Of Fame, and a spot in the Nationals ring of honor.
As a send off, the Nationals hosted a “See You Later” day before their September 28th game against the Chicago White Sox, allowing former collaborators, friends, and family members to express their gratitude towards the legendary announcer. The ceremony concluded with Carpenter’s protege, Dan Kolko, encouraging the audience to turn their attention to the broadcast booth to see Carpenter’s name unveiled under where he called 81 Nationals home games for 20 seasons.
Before the start of Carpenter’s final game in a broadcast booth, the Nationals had a string of events planned for him. First, he threw out the ceremonial first pitch. Just before the start of the game, Nationals starting pitcher Brad Lord tipped his cap to the broadcasters booth where Carpenter stood with his color analyst Kevin Frandson. This led to a domino effect of Nationals players coming out of the dugout to do the same, soon followed by the audience. Applause erupted from both teams and the fans as they congratulated one of the faces of Nationals baseball getting ready to call a baseball game for the final time.
“You’re telling me we have to call a baseball game now?” An emotionally stricken Carpenter asked Frandson before Lord delivered his first offering to the White Sox.
