2024 Ford Frick Award Winner Joe Castiglione Goes Deep On His MLB Hall of Fame Worthy Broadcasting Career
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00:00All right, there's no one on the planet I'd rather be talking to right now than Joe Castigliano.
00:07That's because I know baseball is not boring.
00:09You do.
00:10You're the one, you basically, along with Joe Kelly, are the two people who have the
00:14straws instead of the drink when it comes to the show.
00:17Joe, I just want to start off by saying how honored I am to be part of your life in any
00:25way I am and see your excellence throughout the years.
00:30I know that a lot of people are saying that, but all I can say is where I'm coming from.
00:35As you go into the Hall of Fame, there's a lot of things I want to say, Joe, but just
00:38let me know I appreciate you.
00:40Well, thank you so much, Rob.
00:42You've been a great friend, and I've learned a lot.
00:45You always get your nose right and your pulse right on what's happening, and you're in the
00:50speech.
00:51Yeah.
00:52Oh, my goodness.
00:53Oh, my goodness.
00:54So we talked about the speech.
00:56It was the first day of spring training, which I felt honored where I was part of the first
01:03broadcast you did as an elected Hall of Famer ever.
01:07Yeah, you pointed that out.
01:09I didn't realize it, but yes, you were with me, right?
01:11Well, again, I'm honored in so many ways, but we talked even then.
01:15You were working on the speech.
01:17So you sort of, I think at that time, you said, I've got another 12 minutes.
01:21It has to be 10.
01:22And last I checked in, you're like, yeah, I'm just going to go 13.
01:25Yeah.
01:26That's about right.
01:27I sent it in today.
01:28Oh, you did?
01:29Because they printed it in big font so I don't have to wear my cheaters, and it makes it
01:35a lot easier to follow.
01:36So I'm anxious to see that, and we'll have a couple of rehearsals, I think, because we're
01:41getting there next Wednesday, and the event is Saturday afternoon.
01:45But it's a big thank you, basically.
01:47A lot of people to thank, people I work for, people I work with, people who helped me get
01:52started and to keep me going, partners and others behind the scenes as well.
02:00And when you last that long, a lot of people help you, and I've had many blessings and
02:04many great friends.
02:05It's tough to get the 13 minutes, yeah.
02:08But as we get closer here, has it hit different?
02:13Obviously we know the great story about you hanging up on them when you got the call and
02:17everything else.
02:18That's in there.
02:19Yeah, no.
02:20It's a great story.
02:21You know, it's one thing talking and talking and talking, and now you're on the verge.
02:26Is it hitting different?
02:27I think it is.
02:28I read the speech today, it was a little more emotional than it was when I was putting it
02:32together, because certain people trigger reactions when you mention them, especially people who
02:38are no longer with us, like Johnny Pesky and Lou Gorman and Ken Coleman and Bob Starr.
02:44But I got a call from Pat Hughes, the voice of the Chicago Cubs, who was last year's winner,
02:50and he gave me some advice about the speech.
02:53He said, for one thing, you're not going to be able to see the audience because of the
02:57way the lights are set up.
02:58He could barely make out his wife.
03:00I said, well, that must help you keep the emotions in check, right?
03:03And he agreed.
03:04So we'll have to practice that before it happens.
03:09Did he go 13 minutes?
03:10What did he say?
03:11He said he went 15.
03:12Oh, come on.
03:13Yeah, yeah.
03:14But it's like it's starting to, it's starting to, you obviously, you know, you're gassing
03:20up the tank and you're ready to go.
03:23And they called me last week, Josh Rowitz, the president of the Hall of Fame, and asked
03:27if I would moderate a discussion with Pedro Martinez and David Ortiz about 2004, the 20th
03:34anniversary after my speech.
03:36And I said, of course, I'd be happy to do that.
03:39It's not a difficult assignment with those two.
03:41Yeah.
03:42I mean, Jesus.
03:43What a few days.
03:44What a, I mean, what a time.
03:47But I know that you've probably been asked this before, Joe.
03:50Maybe I've asked you, but when did, when did the Hall of Fame sort of get on your radar?
03:55Like when you're young, you just want a job, right?
03:57Yeah.
03:58After 1983, all I wanted was to get a contract for 1984.
04:02Yeah.
04:03Yeah.
04:04Right.
04:05Right.
04:06Yeah.
04:07It was never on the radar, Rob.
04:08This award started in 1978.
04:09The first winner was my broadcast hero, Mel Allen, along with Red Barber, but I never
04:13gave it a thought.
04:15And then when I got on the ballot, I said, that's nice.
04:17Your second time, a little more hopeful the third time.
04:23The phone didn't ring and the fourth time was the charm.
04:27So I think when you're on the ballot like that, it puts it in your mind a little bit
04:31more, but you still never expect to win.
04:33I mean, there were so many great candidates on the ballot, including network broadcasters
04:39that in their time of assault together, the vote is never announced.
04:44I still don't know what the vote was and probably never will.
04:49Maybe next year, if I have a vote, I'll know what that vote is.
04:54So many, there's a, I know that you've talked to so many, been a mentor to so many people.
05:02So but it's now you can say, hey, this is a hall of famer.
05:05It's like with the Tampa Bay Rays talked about pitching Joe, people listen a little bit harder,
05:10right?
05:11Yeah.
05:12But with Hall of Fame, Joe, it's like, okay, tell us the secret behind broadcasting.
05:17Well, you know, it's, I'm not inducted into the hall of fame, but it's a Frick award and
05:23I signed Frick award, HOF rather than all of fame, because that's for the players and
05:28the managers.
05:29But yeah, I think it's gratifying when especially your peers look at you that way.
05:36But do you, so when you go back and you say, this is, I love power rankings, right?
05:43Give me some of the things that you think were the most important to, to, to get, to
05:47be what you became.
05:48Well, to be in the hall of fame, I think it's longevity.
05:53Yeah.
05:54I think it's a big moments and you can't control that.
05:59But I've been blessed to be here for four world championships in 15 years.
06:05Longevity because you're good though.
06:06That's.
06:07Yeah.
06:08And longevity helps you get a better trend X and the better recognition factor because
06:11you've been around longer.
06:13But I think big moments and being with a big, good franchise, a signature franchise and
06:19those types of things really make it possible.
06:23I mean, if I were with a sixth place team, like I was before I got here, it would be
06:28harder to be noticed.
06:29Some of those guys are in because they were great broadcasters, but it's a lot easier
06:34when your team is winning and you're in the spotlight.
06:38Especially when you have the cloud of Red Sox nation.
06:41I think that's critical.
06:42Yeah.
06:43Well, a lot of people get behind the, obviously your heroes are so many.
06:47When did you, what do you do?
06:48This is going even further back.
06:50When did you realize that you wanted to be a broadcaster?
06:54As soon as I knew I wasn't good enough to play.
06:56Really?
06:57And as Ernie Harwell likes to say, I wanted to be a player in the worst way and that's
07:00exactly how I played.
07:04I think I realized about age 10 or 11 that I wasn't going to be a player and Mel Allen
07:11was my hero.
07:12I hate to admit it, but I was a big Yankee fan in those days being from New Haven.
07:17I think I set my sights on that and I practiced in the backyard doing play-by-play, my own
07:24fungo games and people thought I was crazy, but I tried it.
07:29But you were laser focused.
07:31You knew that's what you wanted to do.
07:33You know, one of the nicest compliments I had when I went to my 50 year reunion at Colgate,
07:40one of my classmates said, you're the guy who's doing exactly what he said he wanted
07:45to do.
07:46That's awesome.
07:47And I realized, wow, that's really a blessing.
07:49That is such a good thing.
07:50That is like one of the best compliments you can get.
07:54It is because, I mean, the focus was there.
07:57What I have done if I hadn't made it, I don't know.
08:00I really don't know.
08:02One of the greatest realizations I had was maybe 10 or 15 years ago when I came to the
08:08conclusion that, hey, I don't have to do anything else.
08:11I don't have to sell insurance or any kind of job like that.
08:16It wasn't until then you were like, oh man, I'm going to be able to do this until...
08:20Don't take this away.
08:21I love this.
08:23And when you come to that realization, I think you realize you have it on easy street.
08:30You have to work at it.
08:31It's been a lot of fun, but I've had a lot of people that helped me.
08:34Yeah.
08:35Well, so I'm going to ask you about baseball.
08:37So this is a question that I love asking players.
08:41We actually, Commissioner of Baseball asked him, the first time you walked into a ballpark
08:50and everyone's experience is different, but there are constant themes.
08:55And I'm not going to put words in your mouth, but one of them is you walk into Fenway, the
08:59greens never greener, the whites never whiter.
09:01Do you remember when you walked into a major league park for the first time?
09:04Yeah.
09:05The first time I walked into a park, I think I was six and it was Jerry Coleman Day at
09:09Yankee Stadium.
09:10He was just back from Korea and he became my first baseball hero.
09:15And I told him that later years, because he's a Ford Frick winner as well, over 40 years
09:20in the San Diego Padres booth before he passed away and he says, I never should have played
09:26that day.
09:27I weighed 130 pounds.
09:29He was a wonderful guy, but I do remember the aura of Yankee Stadium with the triple
09:38deck and the facade.
09:40And I remember my first time at Fenway, it was at the end of the summer before my senior
09:46year in college, stood in the bleachers.
09:49They actually had benches there in the bleachers.
09:52And to see the wall for the first time, I think really what was so remarkable and really
09:57breathtaking to see the green.
09:59That is so awesome.
10:01So when another baseball question I love talking about is you get a chance to sit here and
10:07watch games in person.
10:09And I think even before the pitch clock, going to a baseball game is the best sport to go
10:18to.
10:19You've done, as we know, you've done basketball because you've had Johnny Moose put a cigarette
10:23on your pants or something like that, but going to a baseball game is the best.
10:30I think so because it's outside and you never really see a good game or not.
10:37There are certainly not all good games, but you always have a chance to see something
10:41you never saw before.
10:42I mean, who thought on April 29th, 1986, with the media at the Garden for the Celtics playoff
10:47game against Atlanta and 44 degrees in Misting that you'd see a 20 strikeout game for the
10:53first time in history.
10:56You just never know.
10:57And that adds to the excitement of it.
10:59Plus, you know, I consider myself a baseball historian and, you know, I love to compare
11:05things.
11:06I love to watch players and see how far they're going to go and even if your team is out of
11:13it.
11:14Well, it's personality.
11:15That's another thing that's great about you.
11:18You have great relationships with so many guys and you've obviously throughout the years,
11:24but even the time that I've been with you, I just love how when a guy does well, you
11:32feel it, right?
11:33I do, yeah.
11:35Because you're a human being.
11:36You're a good person and you see the good in other people.
11:39Well, I think that's a big part of it and, you know, we all have our favorites and you
11:45know people better than others.
11:46That's the great thing about baseball at 25 and now 26 players and personalities and obviously
11:51you gravitate to some more than others or you just by happenstance, you get closer to
11:56some more than others.
11:58But many of them become lifetime friends and several of them are telling me they're going
12:03to be in Cooperstown.
12:04So I'm very excited about that and that can bring emotions out.
12:08Oh, well, I told you, I told you what one of the captains of Team Joe is doing.
12:14Rich Hill.
12:15You know what he's doing?
12:16Well, he's bringing his wife and son.
12:17Well, he's driving up and back all in one day.
12:21Yes, he is.
12:23That's the oven beyond the call.
12:24I mean, no, but you know, you have a lot of people.
12:28It's a testament to, you know, and I think that it was so great to have Rich in the booth
12:33and with you.
12:34Oh, yeah.
12:35Spring training.
12:36Spring training.
12:37He's got a future there.
12:38Maybe he'll help us on the mound before the season's over.
12:39Well, these guys told him he's going to throw the first pitch here, then he's going to like
12:43sign a contract and then do a broadcast and do it all.
12:46But it's you know, another part about it is it is when people talk about you, it's it's
12:52not only baseball.
12:54You are your voice is ingrained and I'm not like asking you to like this is just the fact
13:01is ingrained in their life, is ingrained in in their their how they grew up.
13:08I know for me, Joe, it was sitting up in my parents' cabin because we didn't have in
13:14Freeport, Maine.
13:15We didn't have a TV.
13:16We listened to the Red Sox game, staring at the ceiling.
13:20Those voices were always ingrained in me and and for everybody who follows the Red Sox.
13:27That's it.
13:28Your voice is ingrained in them.
13:29Well, it's a blessing.
13:30You know, when I first came here, I got ripped for not having the huge pipes.
13:36We all have our own styles and it's a matter of getting used to.
13:39And I think it's the passion more than anything.
13:43That's more important than having the big boomer and the credibility you need.
13:48You need the trust of New England fans.
13:51I think Joe, like anybody who like says leans on voice inflection or what pipes, but it's
13:56being genuine.
13:57Yeah, that's it.
13:58You're right.
13:59I think that's the most important thing.
14:02Your fan base has to trust you and have confidence in you.
14:08And that's why, you know, when somebody makes an error, you say, you don't cover up for
14:12things, but you let them make their own judgments, too.
14:17I just want to say also, I want to point out your family.
14:21It's your not only obviously we talking about your greatness and how much you've met, but
14:28getting to know your family and having your family around and it's not an easy job, right?
14:34It's not.
14:35And that's why Jan gets so much credit.
14:36I mean, take care of the house, raising three great kids, now six grandchildren.
14:43She's done a lot on her own without many relatives helping her because she's in Ohio.
14:48They're from Ohio.
14:50And it's been just a blessing.
14:53And she gave up her career.
14:54She didn't go back to teach for a while, but pretty much sacrificed it for me and my
15:00career.
15:01And, you know, there were some uncertain times along the way in terms of job security, but
15:08it's all worked out.
15:10Thanks to many blessings.
15:11Well, seeing you down with your grandkids, whether it's in the booth or in the field,
15:14you know, that's the coolest.
15:16Like that's that's the best.
15:18They never want me to leave.
15:19They love the perks.
15:20I believe the ice cream machine.
15:22Are you kidding me?
15:23Oh yeah.
15:25Joe, again, I just want to thank you for everything.
15:28And it's of all my life's honors.
15:31It's right up there.
15:32So thank you.
15:33Thank you so much, Rob.
15:35And I hope we can do many more broadcasts together because I always learn something
15:39with you.
15:40You get the pulse of the team, right?
15:41Thanks, Joe.