Red Sox radio broadcaster Joe Castiglione announces retirement after 42 seasons
Boston Red Sox radio broadcaster Joe Castiglione said Sunday he is retiring at the end of the season, his 42nd calling the team’s games.
Castiglione, 77, made the announcement on the WEEI broadcast as the Red Sox batted in the fourth inning against the New York Yankees.
“For him to be part of our family is amazing. For him to spend more time with his family is great,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said after a 5-2 loss. “We talked a little bit yesterday about it. I think everybody here and everybody in the (Red Sox) nation we know what he means to this organization.”
Castiglione will remain with the team in an honorary ambassador role. The Red Sox will honor him before their regular-season finale on Sept. 29 against Tampa Bay.
Castiglione joined Boston’s broadcast crew in 1983 during the final season for Hall of Fame outfielder Carl Yastrzemski and is the longest tenured play-by-play announcer in team history. He was on the air when the Red Sox ended an 86-year title drought by sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals in 2004 and called three more championships in 2007, 2013 and 2018.
Castiglione received the Hall of Fame’s Ford. C. Frick Award for excellence in broadcasting last July. He was inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2014 along with Pedro Martinez, Roger Clemens and Nomar Garciaparra, and in 2022 the home radio booth at Fenway Park was named the Joe Castiglione Booth.
“After 42 seasons with the Red Sox and more than 6,500 games, I have decided it’s time to retire from a regular broadcast schedule,” Castiglione said in a statement released by the team. “While I feel I am at the pinnacle of my career … it’s time to spend more time with Jan, my bride of almost 53 years, my kids and grandkids.”
Castiglione began his broadcasting career at WFMJ-TV in Youngstown, Ohio, before calling big league games for Cleveland (1979, 1982) and Milwaukee (1981). He also broadcast games for the Cleveland Cavaliers and college basketball on NESN.
“Joe is one of the greatest in baseball broadcasting,” Red Sox principal owner John Henry said in a statement. “His recognition by the Hall of Fame in July punctuated a career of vivid storytelling that has brought the game to life for generations of listeners.”
The Boston Red Sox were mostly quiet this past offseason but did make two noteworthy trades. One of them, the deal that saw them send Chris Sale to the Atlanta Braves, could not have aged worse even if it made a lot of sense at the time. The other one, the trade that saw Boston acquire Tyler O’Neill, could not have aged much better.
The Red Sox acquired O’Neill, a talented player with durability concerns who had fallen out of favor in the St. Louis Cardinals organization for relatively nothing, and have watched him put up one of the best seasons of his career.
