Joe Castiglione looks out at the crowd during the 2024 Hall of Fame Parade of Legends on Saturday, July 20, 2024 in Cooperstown, New York. (Photo by Kelly Gavin/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. – The long-time voice of the Boston Red Sox, Joe Castiglione, still maintains incredible youthful energy about the game of baseball.
Castiglione is the 2024 recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award, presented annually by the Baseball Hall of Fame to a broadcaster who has given greatly to the game of baseball. Castiglione was made available to the media on the afternoon of July 20, and answered a variety of questions about his career in baseball.
Born in Connecticut, Castiglione became the lead play-by-play broadcaster for the Boston Red Sox in 1983 at the age of 36 after some time with the Cleveland Guardians, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Milwaukee Brewers. 42 seasons later, he still broadcasts for the Sox at the age of 77. Castiglione has seen many a Red Sox heartbreak, but as of the last two decades he has been the voice of many Red Sox triumph’s as the Sox have won four World Series championships since breaking “The Curse of the Bambino” in 2004.
Asked who the big influences on his broadcasting career were at a July 20 press conference, Castiglione said, “Number one, Peter, Mel Allen, my broadcast hero, he and Red Barber, the first two elected in 1978, one and two. Ernie Harwell, who mentored me, a very special friend. We would visit with Ernie even after he retired at his retirement complex in Novi, Michigan, and take interns and other people who were interested, because Ernie was always so gracious to everybody working in baseball. Those are two. Marty Brennaman, we had dinner about a month ago in Cincinnati when the Red Sox played there. Very special friend. And of course, Vin Scully, the king of them all.”
In regards to the advice he would give to an aspiring young broadcaster in this day and age, he said, “Prepare as much as you can. Play the games as long as you can if you want to do play by play, and really look at it from a coach’s standpoint, and try to be as detail oriented as you can as to why things happen and why certain plays are necessary for success. And to practice tapes, to listen to yourself. Don’t overdo it, because there is a point of diminishing returns. But try to get that first job, whether it’s volunteering on cable TV at your local cable affiliate, which is now possible, something we didn’t have in my day, or spinning the hits. Learn to do it all.”
A notable year in Castiglione’s tenure with the Red Sox was 2004, when the Red Sox captured their first World Series title since 1918. When asked about if he cherished the comeback in the American League Championship Series or the World Series more, he said he favored the moment of the comeback.
“It was the greatest comeback of all time. That might have a slight edge, because it never happened before, down three games to none,” Castiglione said. “…But the season would not have been fulfilling if they didn’t win the World Series, because it had happened before, ’46, ’75, ’86, and I was just glad for that last out.”
Asked he loves about Cooperstown, the veteran announcer said “There are so many. Of course, the plaques probably are number one, and now this new Negro League exhibit is wonderful because I visited the museum in Kansas City many times and will again next month. And I think the Henry Aaron display is really special as well. And I love following the timelines of all the World Series and seasons and reading not only about the Hall of Famers, but some of those heroes who came out of nowhere to help their teams win world championships. But it’s such a great museum.”
After 41 years behind the microphone in Boston, the possibility of retirement looms for Castiglione, though he doesn’t have any firm plans.
“I’m still thinking about it. I mean, I love it. I still have fun. I owe some time at home. I’ve been gone a third of the year for 45 years, and we have an empty nest and, of course, three grandchildren living a mile away, a lot of their games to see. And you know, we’ll sort of reassess after this event and see what happens next year. But the Red Sox have been great. Audacy broadcasts have been great. I do 90 games now. They let me pick the games, so we’ll get together and huddle and see what happens at that point.”
Mentioning his love of Cooperstown in the conference, Castiglione was showered with love by those in Cooperstown on Saturday, commemorating his legendary baseball broadcasting career on Saturday as the 48th winner of the Ford C. Frick Award for major contributions to baseball as a broadcaster.
Honored later in the day at the Hall of Fame Awards Presentation, he delivered a speech upon receiving the Frick Award and conducted an interview about the Yankees Red Sox rivalry with Hall of Famers Joe Torre and David Ortiz.
He ended his speech with a reflection on his luck and gratitude, saying, “At my 50th college reunion, a classmate said to me, ‘You’re the one guy who did exactly what he said he wanted to do.’ What a blessing. This honor caps the many blessings I’ve had. The catchphrase fits so well: ‘Can you believe it?’”
