LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — As a boy, Bob Costas took a cross-country drive with his dad, delighting in spinning the radio dial and listening “through the crackle and static” to broadcasts from far-flung ballparks.

He pulled in the big stations — WJR in Detroit, KDKA in Pittsburgh, WBAL in Baltimore and beyond — mesmerized by the games.

And the great voices that called them.

On Wednesday, Costas joined them. Familiar to fans for four decades, he won the Ford C. Frick Award presented by the baseball Hall of Fame for broadcasting excellence.

“Even if you’re coming off the bench, you’re on the same team as Jack Buck, Vin Scully, Ernie Harwell, Red Barber, Harry Caray and Mel Allen,” he said, naming a few famed announcers.

The honor was announced at the winter meetings. A 28-time Emmy Award winner who’s called the Olympics and several other sports, the 65-year-old Costas said he was humbled by the award.

“Because of my love of baseball and because of the other names that (won the Frick Award), this is at the top of the list,” he said on a conference call. “No disrespect of all the other awards, because they all mean a lot to me, but this means the most.”

Mixing history, anecdotes and analysis, Costas is popular with viewers and listeners, using his words to paint pictures from the parks.

“For almost 40 years, Bob Costas has presented an incredibly thoughtful and informed voice on every game he calls for NBC, The Baseball Network and MLB Network,” Hall President Jeff Idelson said.

“But it’s Bob’s pure affection for baseball that has made him a national treasure. From the first day he entered our living rooms, Bob became one of the national pastime’s greatest friends,” he said.

Said Costas: “It’s always been my favorite sport to broadcast.”

Costas has long carried a 1958 Mickey Mantle card in his wallet, a nod to his boyhood hero, the star whose games he listened to on his transistor radio growing up in New York. They eventually became friends, and Costas delivered the eulogy at Mantle’s funeral. Costas later did the eulogy for Cardinals great Stan Musial.