I Saw It on the Radio with the Boston Red SoxRed Sox radio announcer Joe Castiglione seems like a really nice guy, so I feel bad saying this, but here goes: This is not a good book. In fact, as they say about movies, it's often so bad that it's good. It's just a weird little book that seems to be in desperate need of an editor.
Sure, he occasionally has some interesting things to say, but there are also long sections where he talks about his favorite restaurants in the cities he visits. (In Baltimore, he actually recommends a food court.) Granted, the book is chock-full of behind-the-scenes details, but those details are often about the hotels he stayed in while on the road and the food in the press boxes of stadium which sometimes don't exist anymore.
Here, for example, are the last two paragraphs of the book, in which he discusses his participation in the Hall of Fame exhibit for the 2004 Red Sox, surely an exciting day:
I was honored to cut the ribbon for the exhibit, which included Curt Schilling's bloody sock. That night, I stayed at the beautiful Otesaga Hotel on Lake Otesage, within walking distance of the Hall of Fame. I was one of eight guests. I had the Otesaga's great brunch the next morning, then drove onto Franklin Pierece for a class.
November. We are still basking in the glow of the series victory and the trophy's tour. I hope we can repeat it next year.
Okay, maybe he did have editors, because you just know that the first draft listed all eight of the other guests and what he had for brunch.
By the way, it may seem like I'm on a baseball kick lately, having finished this and the Simmons book this week, but I really started the Castiglione book way back in the summer. It just took me six months to get through it.
