If Boston wins tonight, it’s all over for Tim McCarver. He will have called his last World Series game for Fox Sports, and likely anyone else. If it isn’t tonight, then it will be tomorrow night.

While McCarver says he isn’t retiring, he will be walking away from the big spotlight.

I did my review on McCarver’s career. His record-setting longevity, candor, and critics.

Ken Rosenthal wrote a tribute and an insider’s perspective in a column at Foxsports.com.

Rosenthal writes:

I understand why Tim is leaving. He’s 72. He wants to cut back, enjoy his wine, take cooking classes. He’s not ruling out broadcasting in the future, and I suspect we will see him again soon. But this World Series, his record 24th, likely will be his last. I will miss him personally. I will miss him professionally. And trust me, the loss for Fox — and for baseball — will be big.

Everyone is entitled to an opinion, and a good argument is part of what makes baseball so much fun. But fans who harp on this comment or that from Tim miss the point. Anyone who speaks his mind for more than three hours straight on live television is going to tick off someone, particularly when he sticks around for nearly a quarter-century and works every major event in his sport.

I just wish people could have seen how diligently Tim prepared, not just for postseason games, but every Saturday broadcast. I wish they could have seen how, at 72, his mind was as active, vibrant and curious as a man 50 years younger. I wish they could have seen how open he was to new ideas — and how he welcomed me from the moment I joined the broadcasts in 2006.

On his work ethic:

I’m sure Fox will replace Tim with someone younger, but good luck to that analyst trying to match Tim’s work ethic.

On the morning of a broadcast, Tim calls our producer, Pete Macheska, to discuss ideas; Tim values the opinion of others in helping form his own. He then arrives at the park at least five hours before first pitch, well ahead of Joe and myself. He talks with editorial assistants Wayne Fidelman and Dave Korus, seeking nuggets of information, scrawling tiny notes on the big board that he uses during the broadcast.

He looks at tapes, graphics, packages, considers what he will say in the opening segment of the show. Later we meet with the managers, and by first pitch Tim is like a thoroughbred at the gate, ready to go.

I’ll be honest — the criticism of Tim, particularly the snark on social media, bothers me greatly. I learn from him every broadcast, and his “first-guessing” — offering proactive analysis instead of reactive — has set him apart over the years.

He concludes:

We’re going to miss him, all of us. I tried to tell Tim at the end of every season how much of an honor it is to work with him. He is a treasure, Fox’s treasure, baseball’s treasure. And dammit, I’m not ready for him to say goodbye.