Red Sox broadcaster Joe Castiglione takes home Ford C. Frick Award

The Ford C. Frick Award, an annual award given by the Baseball Hall of Fame for excellence in broadcasting, is returning to the AL East as legendary Boston Red Sox broadcaster Joe Castiglione has earned the honour for the 2024 class.

Castiglione spent 41 seasons working for the Red Sox and called four World Series wins as well as numerous other personal achievements, including Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz no-hitters and Roger Clemens’s 20-strikeout contest back in 1986. He began his career in Major League Baseball calling (the then) Cleveland Indians and Milwaukee Brewers before joining the Red Sox organization in 1983. Working with a variety of co-hosts, after Bob Starr departed from the radio booth in 1992, Castiglione took over as the lead announcer the following year and continues to work in the booth at 76 years old.

The Connecticut product also has two published books related to his work in the booth and also works at Northeastern University, lecturing in a course on sports broadcasting. In 2022 the Boston Red Sox named the home radio booth in his honour after 40 years in the booth and Castiglione takes home the Ford C. Frick Award this year after being nominated last year but missing out to Cubs broadcaster Pat Hughes.

Also on the list of finalists for the 2024 season was Blue Jays broadcaster Dan Shulman, who was one of the first people to congratulate Castiglione on social media following the winning announcement from the Hall of Fame.

Currently working as the Blue Jays play-by-play announcer, Shulman has been regarded as one of the best in the game and has worked in multiple capacities in baseball (and college basketball) prior to his time in Toronto, including Sunday night baseball with ESPN radio and also in the Blue Jays radio booth with TSN alongside Buck Martinez.

While Shulman didn’t take home the honour this year, one can guarantee his name will feature on a finalist ballot in the future and potentially join the ranks of Tom Cheek and Tony Kubek as Blue Jays affiliated broadcasters to receive the Ford C. Frick Award.