HOF Red Sox announcer Joe Castiglione to retire at season’s end

NEW YORK — Boston Red Sox radio host Joe Castiglione said Sunday he will retire at the end of the season. It will be his 42nd time covering the team’s games.

Castiglione, 77, made the announcement during the WEEI broadcast while the Red Sox were batting in the fourth inning against the New York Yankees.

Castiglione will remain with the team in an honorary ambassador role. The Red Sox will honor him before their season finale on Sept. 29 against Tampa Bay.

Castiglione joined Boston’s broadcast crew in 1983 during the final season of 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 defeating 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 renamed 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 a regular broadcasting schedule,” Castiglione said in a statement released by the team. “While I feel like I am at the peak of my career … it is time to spend more time with Jan, my bride of almost 53 years, my children and grandchildren.”

Castiglione began his broadcasting career at WFMJ-TV in Youngstown, Ohio, before covering major 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 best in baseball broadcasting,” Red Sox principal owner John Henry said in a statement. “His induction into the Hall of Fame in July capped a career of vibrant storytelling that has brought the game to life for generations of listeners.”