MLB

There’s a different type of Joe Castiglione call to listen for, this one from the Hall of Fame

By Chad Finn, The Boston Globe

July 30, 2022

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The pitch-perfect tribute to Joe Castiglione at Fenway Park on Thursday night was a reminder of how good New England baseball fans have had it through the generations when tuning in to Red Sox games on the radio.

Castiglione, who debuted in the Red Sox booth in 1983 — the year Carl Yastrzemski retired and Roger Clemens was drafted — has been welcome company through so many summers and, in those most satisfying seasons, autumns. Listening to him call a game is soothing and familiar, like hearing from a favorite Red Sox-adoring uncle.

Castiglione was inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2014 and he has been a finalist for the Baseball Hall of Fame’s Ford C. Frick Award for “excellence in baseball broadcasting” multiple times, most recently in 2020. I’m confident he’s going to receive the honor, perhaps soon, because changes in the election cycle should help him.

In recent years, the Hall of Fame has rotated three categories of broadcasters for eligibility: Major League Markets (team-specific announcers, Castiglione’s category), National Voices (the Joe Buck sorts), and Broadcasting Beginnings (pioneers of baseball broadcasting and early team voices). In 2021, Al Michaels was inducted from the National Voices category. In 2022, old-timer Jack Graney was inducted from the Broadcasting Beginnings group.

That policy is changing for the next election. Now, a composite ballot of local and national voices will be eligible for four consecutive years, with the fifth year featuring candidates whose careers ended before the advent of the wild card in 1995. Each ballot will consist of 10 candidates. The new parameters should help Castiglione, who now has a chance to be on the ballot in 2023, ‘24, ‘25, and ‘26 rather than every third year.

He deserves to get in someday. Hopefully that someday is soon. But as Red Sox fans know, there are a couple of more than worthy candidates with Boston connections who, to local bewilderment, have not received the honor from the Hall.

I cannot believe Ken Coleman — Castiglione’s mentor — has not received the Frick Award, and it’s even more puzzling that Ned Martin has been shut out. Castiglione could get in ahead of both Martin (whose last season was 1992) and Coleman (retired in ‘89), who won’t be eligible until ‘27. But they’re both years overdue.

Easy listening

WEEI did a fantastic job during Thursday’s game of mixing in a diverse selection of Castiglione’s best calls through the years rather than just the legendary ones (“Ground ball. Stabbed by Foulke . . . ”) that are already familiar. His call of Mo Vaughn’s walkoff grand slam against the Mariners in the 1998 home opener was especially animated . . . Another thing you notice: He’s actually disciplined and selective when dropping in his catchphrase “Can you believe it?” . . . WEEI did miss an opportunity to put together a medley of Castiglione’s best product reads through the years. Who among us doesn’t love the classics such as “Two pounds of boneless, skinless chicken thighs, now just $3:79 for a limited time, only at Shaw’s and Star Markets”? . . . Got a kick of digging up media columnist pioneer Jack Craig’s story on Castiglione’s hiring in the Globe archives. The Feb. 1, 1983, story notes that Dave Shea, Mike Lynch, and Bob Gamere were candidates for the job, and that Castiglione described his style as “pretty straight, not a rooter.”

Lynchie on the mend

Lynch, the popular former Ch. 5 sports anchor known to all as “Lynchie,” is continuing to make progress at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital after having complications with his right side following a stroke in May. He’s receiving 4-5 hours per day of physical therapy and expects to be there a couple more weeks. “It’s a good thing, they work us hard,’’ he said in a text message Friday. “Tell all I’ll be back soon!” . . . If you’re among those who subscribed to the direct-to-consumer NESN 360 app to stream Red Sox games, I’m curious what you think of it so far. (Try to separate the team’s performance from the app’s in your evaluation.) The app has a 2.5-star average out of 5 on Roku out of more than 950 ratings, but some of that might be in response to the $30 a month price point rather than the caliber of the product. It has added some quality content lately, including a content partnership with Jomboy Media, which built a massive YouTube following with founder Jimmy O’Brien and friends’ hilarious breakdowns of baseball highlights . . . Amusing to hear from some viewers complaining about play-by-play voice Joe Davis during the MLB All-Star Game. Didn’t know you’d miss Joe Buck until he was gone, huh?