January 13, 2012
Hangin' Out With ... Joe Castiglione
by Ian Browne/
Red Sox radio broadcaster Joe Castiglione says Pedro Martinez (left) stands alone as the greatest player he's announced. (photo: Boston Red Sox)
Joe Castiglione is entering his 30th season as a radio broadcaster with the Red Sox, and his second book — “Can You Believe It? Thirty years of inside stories with the Boston Red Sox” — will be released in April.
You are entering your 30th season behind the mike for the Red Sox. Could you have ever imagined that?
“No, I never thought I’d be at any job for 30 years, but it’s really a blessing I’ve been able to do that. We’ve had a lot of support from the club and the radio network, Entercom now and their predecessors. I’ve been blessed to have very good teams other than a few teams in the early ’90s. I think we’ve had five losing teams.”
What was it like to be able to break in with Ken Coleman?
“That was really a great situation for me because I had listened to Ken as a kid and a teenager. I remember him doing Cleveland Browns TV when I was like 10 years old. He was very good to me. He introduced me to a lot of people. He was very supportive. He really helped me get established. Ken was the perfect guy to break in under. I’ll always be very grateful to him.”
What’s the best game you’ve ever broadcast?
“There’s so many. Winning in ’04 and ’07, but especially ’04, because it was the first. And all those games in the Yankees’ ALCS in ’04, especially Game 7, because I think it’s still the most important game in Red Sox history. The two 20-strikeout games by Roger Clemens. Pedro Martinez, any of his games: the 17-strikeout game he had in New York; Pedro’s game in Cleveland when he came out of the bullpen. The Morgan Magic games. Benzinger’s walkoff homer around the Pesky Pole. Kevin Romine hit a walkoff in that time. It’s really hard to pinpoint one because there’s so many. The ultimate was finally beating the Yankees.”
How about some of the more painful games, like Game 6 of the ’86 World Series?
“I remember doing the top of the 10th inning which was my inning to do and I said to Ken, do you want me to go to the clubhouse for the celebration and you cover the last of the 10th? He was very gracious. He said it’s up to you. I thought he should he do the final out of the first world championship ever on radio for the Red Sox. I wanted to be down there anyway so I was standing by the clubhouse when I saw them bring champagne in and then I heard the basehits and the wild pitch and saw them bringing the champagne out, and I started to run back to the booth for the 11th inning and heard the crowd when I was on the ramp at Shea Stadium. I never saw the ball go through (Bill) Buckner’s legs until I saw it on TV at 2 in the morning. To me, it was my fourth year, and I said, ‘We’re good, we’ll be back the next year or the year after.’ It took 18 years.”
Was that more painful than Game 7 in ’03?
“That might have been more crushing because we had the lead, 5-2, entering the last of the eighth. I knew when Grady Little jogged out, he wasn’t going to take him out, and I don’t blame him because we didn’t really have a closer. That was really devastating. I just remember going from LaGuardia, it reminded me so much of going home in ’86 after Game 7. It was so eerie. And then the next year, the ultimate, winning in New York.”
You’ve been around so many great players during your three decades. Which one stood out the most in terms of performance?
“Oh, yeah, Pedro is Number One. He is Number One without a doubt. The most charismatic athlete I’ve ever been around, the greatest pitcher. And when he pitched, it was an event. The Dominican flags, the crowd. Pedro was a star and knew it. I was also pretty close with him. Just the showmanship, combined with the ability. He was so special.”
About Morgan Magic, that kind of gets lost in the shuffle in light of what’s happened recently. How special was that month or so in the summer of 1988?
“Twelve in a row, 24 straight at home, and they won 19 out of 20 overall. Other than the two world championships, that was the most thrilling period. And a lot of it was because Joe was probably my best friend in baseball. That made it extra special for us, and for my family because they were very tight with Joe and his wife, Dot. Every day, there was a different hero. It was truly magic.”
You see young broadcasters now try to make their mark. What advice do you give someone who is trying to become a major-league broadcaster?
“We try to tell them how difficult it is because there are so few jobs. But just prepare and learn as much about the game. To read as much about the game’s history, and also to play it as long as you can. And to persevere. It probably means you’ll have to start in a small market unless you played. When I was coming up in the ’70s, the minor leagues were in trouble. Low attendance and a lot of teams didn’t broadcast. That’s changed. There’s no formula, but it’s really a matter of making a total commitment and sacrificing and working your way up if you can.”
How many more years would you like to do this?
“I really have no plans to stop. I get four months off and I recharge. I love doing it every day. I do work for the Jimmy Fund, and in the offseason, I teach my course at Northeastern, and that keeps you in touch with young people and I think that’s important. It’s not heavy lifting. I enjoy the travel. I don’t have a timetable or a plan.”
What do you remember most about your career before you got to Boston in ’83?
“Well, a lot of things. Being a DJ part-time, spinning the hits. I did that in Connecticut at a small station. I worked at Syracuse when I was going to grad school. When I came to Youngstown, I did the 6 and 11 o’clock news, and also doing high schools and Youngstown State Football for $15 a game. I said to the manager, ‘Do I get a color guy?’ He said, ‘If you want to pay him out of your $15.’ I did the games alone. My first job doing the Indians was big. It was my first job in baseball, and I was 32. That was a highlight in 1979.”
With all the traveling you do during the season, where do you like to go the most?
“There’s highlights in every city I think. I like Seattle because it’s different. You have Puget Sound and the mountains. I like going to Anaheim and Newport Beach, Baltimore, even Cleveland because I worked there for 12 years. I like to get out a little bit on the road and check out the sights. I’m on somebody else’s ticket traveling. Somebody else is paying so take advantage of it.”
What do you do in the offseason?
“I teach my class at Northeastern once a week. There are a lot of things in the fall to catch up on, and then right after the first of the year, we go to Florida and camp out in Fort Myers. We have a house there, and it’s pretty much been a second home. I have five grandchildren so that keeps us busy. My grandchildren are 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1.”
How has technology changed your job through the years?
“I think you have to be a good editor because there’s so much information out there. But it means you don’t have to wonder. You can look something up instantly and that’s a big deal. You have the laptop there or the iPod and get an answer whether it’s historical or statistical. I used to count pitches with a hand counter. Now it’s on the scoreboard or the Internet, but you have to be careful you don’t miss a play. The toughest thing about baseball is that the ball is in play about eight minutes out of three hours.”
I’m sure you’ve gotten to meet a lot of interesting people because of your job. Does anyone in particular stick out?
“Our trip to the White House during the 1986 season when we met President Reagan. That was really big. We went with the Secret Service and got a tour. We were in the Roosevelt Room and Vice President (George H.W.) Bush happened to come in and say hi unexpectedly. President Reagan came in and started talking baseball and movie stories. Ken Coleman taped him even though he wasn’t supposed to, and we had it on the pre-game. Roger Clemens was there and he won that night.”
What excites you about the 2012 season?
“I’m excited about Bobby V. I’ve known him for a long time. He was in high school when I was in Connecticut, about 30 miles away. I first met him in ’83 at a New Haven Writers’ Dinner. We all knew of him because he was such a tremendous athlete. He was really a star.”
This article originally appeared in the January-February 2012 issue of New England Baseball Journal.
Ian Browne can be reached at feedback@baseballjournal.com
