Castiglione Signing Off From Hall of Fame Career as Red Sox Radio Voice
Joe Castiglione is credited for calling more than 6,500 MLB games on the radio since his MLB broadcasting career began in 1979. The upcoming Sept. 29 home game at Fenway Park for the Red Sox with the visiting New York Yankees will be the final time the hall of fame announcer goes before a microphone describing balls, strikes, and all other happenings between the foul lines.
All good things come to an end, either by choice or force. Last Sunday, at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, it was fair to say that Red Sox Nation and MLB fan bases throughout the American and National Leagues were stunned when Castiglione, 75, announced that this would be his final season working full-time from the press box. For four decades on the job, Castiglione has been the longest-tenured broadcaster in Red Sox history.
Although the officials plan to recognize Castiglione before the Reds Sox—Tampa Bay Rays game on Sept. 29, the praise and thanks from those who grew up being informed and entertained by the only radio voice they have known are equally appreciated.
Longtime MLB pitcher and current MLB Network analyst Ron Darling champions all the appreciation shown to Castiglione since his retirement plans became public six days ago. Darling was one of the rare players who knew Castiglione professionally and was quick to label himself a fan of the Red Sox voice. Coming from the Worcester, Massachusetts area, about 40 miles west of Boston, Darling has cherished memories of hearing Red Sox games on the radio and easily identified selecting the correct channel on his radio dial by hearing Castiglione's familiar voice.
"Listening to Joe was much more than a radio broadcast of a Red Sox game. He was the caretaker of the passionate New Englander, consoling their occasional disappointment while reveling with them during fruitful Octobers. Summers will never be the same," Darling said in an email this week to The Epoch Times.
Although Castiglione plans to hang around Fenway Park after hanging up his microphone as an ambassador for the club, not just the fans and players will miss his trusted voice on media platforms; his fellow broadcasters, too, will need some getting used to not seeing their friend regularly.
Take Tampa Bay Rays' lead radio voice, Andy Freed. On the job in the Tampa area for 20 seasons, his fondness of Castiglione's friendliness and career-supporting words date back to his seasons calling minor league baseball.
"I first met Joe when I was broadcasting in the Red Sox minor league system back in the 1990s. He would always take the time to ask about my career and was interested in a genuine way," Freed said via email to The Epoch Times earlier this week. "Joe has a lot of respect for the younger announcers and their plans and career adventures. When I reached the Majors with the Rays in 2005, and in all the subsequent seasons since, we have had such a friendly connection. I love having dinner with him before games because he is such a friendly, kind man and willing to share stories."
High praise from Castiglione's peers took center stage this past July in Cooperstown, New York, at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Last December a call from Hall of Fame President Josh Rawitch further cemented Castiglione, a native New Englander from Hamden, Connecticut, forevermore as one of baseball's greatest broadcasters of all-time. Selected as the 48th recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award at the Baseball Winter Meetings, Castiglione earned the award for "major contributions to the game."
Since joining the Red Sox, Castiglione has called four World Series championships won by Boston. Winning The Commissioner's Trophy in 2004 was the first championship club in Boston baseball in 86 years.
Even locals, like Mike "Pags" Pagliarulo from Medford, six miles north of Boston, remain fans of Castiglione, the person and the broadcaster, throughout their teens and into adulthood. Pags put in 11 MLB seasons in the 80s and 90s, including in 1991 with the Minnesota Twins. This season, the Twins won the World Series after defeating the Atlanta Braves in a seven-game affair. With all his baseball pedigree, Pagliarulo looks back with such appreciation for having Castiglione as a surrogate Red Sox friend, always having a go-to authority on how his favorite team was performing.
"Growing up in Medford, I was just a couple of bus stops and train stops from Fenway. I've had the luxury of listening to Joe for 40 years. To me, he (Castiglione) is the sound of baseball," Pagliarulo expressed in an email to The Epoch Times. "Joe goes out of his way to say hello, he shows respect to the players on both sides of the diamond, and to me the wonderful experience of Fenway Park and the Red Sox has much to do with Joe Castiglione."
Before joining the Red Sox broadcast crew in 1983, Castiglione called Cleveland Indians and Milwaukee Brewers games on radio and TV. Before getting the call to MLB airwaves, like many looking for a break in the industry, Castiglione paid his dues as a sports anchor for NBC affiliate WFMJ-TV Youngstown, Ohio. Pittsburgh Pirates' TV/radio voice Greg Brown, now in his 31st season handling play-by-play duties for the club, also cut his broadcasting teeth at WFMJ-TV. This is a bond both Brown and Castiglione enjoy rehashing.
"Joe is one of the last old-time, classic radio play-by-play announcers who was considered THE voice of his team. Joe Castiglione and the Boston Red Sox will forever be linked in the annals of baseball history," according to Brown in an email sent to The Epoch Times. " Joe loved the fact that three MLB broadcasters all worked, at separate times, as sports anchors for the same NBC affiliate in Youngstown, Ohio. The Rockies Joe Corrigan, Joe and I would share stories about our experiences there and hope that some day, we could get together for a team photo, even though we knew that opportunity was highly unlikely."
