The Boston Red Sox honored longtime radio voice Joe Castiglione, who called his final game on Sunday, with an on-field pregame ceremony. The 77-year-old Castiglione, recently recognized by the Baseball Hall of Fame with the Ford C. Frick Award, has been the team’s lead radio voice since 1983.
During the ceremony, the team played highlights of his memorable calls over videos of the American League championship team in 1986 and Boston’s World Series title teams in 2004, ’07, ’13, and ’18 on the center-field scoreboard. Members of those teams took to the field, with Hall of Famer Jim Rice highlighting the ’86 group and Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez representing the ’04 squad.
Castiglione reflected on his iconic call ending the ’04 championship that broke an 86-year title drought, thanking the fans. That historic moment came on a ground ball back to pitcher Keith Foulke, who was also in attendance to represent that team. “I will miss being your eyes and ears,” Castiglione said. “For 42 years, all I can say is: Can you believe it!”
Asked about calling his final out—a liner to center by Tampa Bay’s Richie Palacios that secured a 3-1 victory for the Red Sox—Castiglione said, “I was sort of numb. It sort of felt like the ninth inning in St. Louis in ’04. … It still really hasn’t set in, probably won’t until next spring.”
Before the top of the eighth inning, the team ran a montage of his calls over highlights shown on the center-field scoreboard. When it concluded, the entire Red Sox dugout emptied, with players, coaches, and manager Alex Cora stepping onto the field, looking up and applauding toward him in the booth behind home plate. “I had some moments, especially when Alex brought the players out,” Castiglione noted.
Jackie Bradley, the 2018 ALCS MVP, caught a ceremonial first pitch from Castiglione. Martinez summed up the occasion, saying, “Forty-two years is a long, long time for someone to be working every single day to go through the struggles and the successes, the travel and the lifestyle, and always have a smile. Those are the kind of people that deserve all the respect that we are giving him today.”
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu honored him with a proclamation declaring September 29, 2024, as “Joe Castiglione Day” in Boston. Team President Sam Kennedy presented him with letters from Fenway Park’s infamous Green Monster that spelled out “CASTIG” in white against the Monster’s green backdrop.
Cora, a member of the ’07 team, and Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow, representing the ’13 squad, also joined the celebration on the field. Castiglione signed off as he does each season, reading a passage from A. Bartlett Giamatti’s “The Green Fields of the Mind.”
“I did right away, right after the game ended,” he said.
