NEW YORK — Boston Red Sox baseball team Radio host Joe Castiglione said Sunday he will retire at the end of the season, his 42nd time commentating on the team’s games.
Castiglione, 77, made the announcement on the WEEI broadcast as the Red Sox batted in the fourth inning against New York Yankees baseball team.
Castiglione will remain with the team as an honorary ambassador. The Red Sox will honor him before the regular-season finale on September 29 against Tampa Bay.
Castiglione joined Boston’s broadcast staff in 1983 during the final season of Hall of Fame outfielder Carl Yastrzemski and is the longest-serving live announcer in team history. He was on the air as the Red Sox ended an 86-year title drought by sweeping St. Louis Cardinals Football Team in 2004 and won 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 broadcast booth at Fenway Park will be named the Joe Castiglione Booth.
“After 42 seasons with the Red Sox and more than 6,500 games, I have decided it is time to retire from regular broadcasting,” Castiglione said in a statement released by the team. “While I feel I am at the peak of my career … it is time to spend more time with Jan, my wife of nearly 53 years, my children and grandchildren.”
Castiglione began his broadcasting career at WFMJ-TV in Youngstown, Ohio, before reporting major league games for Cleveland (1979, 1982) and Milwaukee (1981). He also broadcast Cleveland Cavaliers games and college basketball on NESN.
“Joe was 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 capped a career of vibrant storytelling that brought the game to generations of listeners.”
