The last day of the MLB regular season can be emotional, especially if one's favorite club misses the playoffs. This year, Boston Red Sox fans had a particularly difficult finale.
Joe Castiglione, longtime radio voice of the Red Sox on WEEI, retired after Boston's final regular season game on Sept. 29. The Red Sox held a ceremony for the longest-tenured broadcaster in team history before the first pitch, with a commemorative video and a speech, among other honors.
Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, president and CEO Sam Kennedy, mayor of Boston Michelle Wu, team co-owner Tom Werner and many Red Sox greats looked on as Castiglione accepted his honors, gave a speech and threw his first pitch. The Red Sox's principal owner, John Henry, was not among the front office personnel at the event. In Castiglione's words, "Can you believe it?"
Yes. And it's even more unfortunate that no one was surprised by his absence.
Thank you, Joe. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/74qR7Sz77a
— Red Sox (@RedSox) September 29, 2024
Henry has been reclusive since the disastrous Mookie Betts trade of 2019. He addressed reporters after the exchange with the Dodgers and at Boston's Winter Weekend fan festival in 2022, but he's been absent since. He's answered questions over email at least once and gave an interview to Financial Times, an English publication, that wasn't well received by fans of his many sports teams. Since then, he's decided it's better never to speak — or even appear — at all.
Castiglione has been the voice of the Red Sox for 42 seasons and Henry has owned the team for over half of those years. His absence from the events honoring Castiglione, who called all four of Boston's championships since 2004, is telling in multiple ways.
John Henry's cowardice continues as he skips Joe Castiglione's Red Sox retirement ceremony
Red Sox fans have begged ownership for an inkling of a sign that it cares about its players or the product on the field. Skipping Castiglione's ceremony is a strange way to telegraph good intentions. It's possible Henry was at Fenway Park during or before the retirement ceremony, but his inability to stand in front of fans on behalf of the longest-tenured broadcaster in his organization's history speaks volumes about his character. He didn't attend the funeral of his longtime colleague Larry Lucchino, though, so Sox fans have come to expect nothing less.
Neither Henry nor Werner attended Boston's end-of-season press conference the day after Castiglione's retirement. It appears Red Sox fans are in for another offseason of Henry's cowardice and lack of accountability for his team's unimpressive play.
Cora, Breslow and Kennedy have made promises to fans that this offseason will be different from the disappointments of recent years. Red Sox fans will believe it when they see it, and Henry's continued reclusiveness doesn't bode well for the change in philosophy that other front-office members have mentioned.