Marysol Castro and Colin Cosell are proud to be essential workers.
That might sound odd, since they're the New York Mets' public-address announcers. But even without fans at CitiField, the rules of Major League Baseball require names and numbers to ring out.
Cosell pointed out a specific example: When a pitch hitter comes into the game, "He's not officially in the game until we announce him."
It's a three-step process. The manager sends the pinch hitter to the plate, the umpire checks the lineup card and realizes this is not the correct batter, and then waves at the PA announcer to call the player's name and welcome him into the game.
Major League Baseball and the Players' Association are negotiating a shortened season, possibly with extended playoffs. Both Cosell and Castro are ready to go back to work.
Not that either has had much down time.
Castro is a features reporter for the PIX11 weekday morning show. She also has Somos, a web series "profiling Latinos in all walks of life," and recently made a deal with Public Broadcasting System for a food show which "will start shooting soon."
To fill time during quarantine, Cosell launched "Call Me Up Colin" on Twitter, where he recorded personalized announcements. He expanded that into a business with other broadcasters, called "Now on Deck," and is also serving as a master of ceremonies for business-to-business roundtables.
"I feel like I'm doing more now than when I was going into the studio every day," said Castro, who is also homeschooling her sons, 14-year-old Liam and 11-year-old Gavin, in Connecticut.
"I was hoping to have done a job that would fulfill all my needs and passions. I've got the sports thing. I've got the TV thing. I've got the Latina thing. I've got the food thing. I don't know how I'm going to do it all, but I'll figure it out later."
Castro and Cosell were hired at the same time in the spring of 2018, but didn't meet in person until they had to hash out their schedules. Cosell said "it was a good half hour" before any work was done, because they immediately got along so well.
They try to alternate series, but with Castro's role at PIX11, she is more likely to be at CitiField on weekends.
"I'm the busiest I've ever been. I would not be this busy without a pandemic," said Cosell, the grandson of the late broadcasting legend Howard Cosell.
"She doesn't stop. She'll manufacture things to do, and people will pay her for them. It's crazy. I'm kind of in awe that I get to share a booth with her."
Making history
Castro's first game behind the mic was May 31, 2018 against the Chicago Cubs. She is the Mets' first female PA announcer, and the first Latina announcer in Major League Baseball.
But Castro grew up a Yankee fan in the Bronx, a fact that came out "30 seconds into my conversation" with Mets executive producer Joe DeVito.
She earned a full scholarship to boarding school, attended Wesleyan University, and after three years teaching high school English at Poly Prep in Brooklyn, attended Columbia University's journalism graduate program.
Castro came to CitiField via local TV news in New York City and Connecticut, ESPN's boxing and Little League coverage, and as the national weather anchor for ABC's "Good Morning America" and "The Early Show" on CBS.
"I'm hoping to continue to do that kind of stuff," Castro said of her journalism training. "Not that I don't love being the PA announcer, but I like to use the other side of my brain. ... When I'm fulfilling my role as a journalist, I feel like every cell in my being is attuned to the exact task in front of me, the exact task of telling a story with a beginning, a middle and an end. It's different when you're reading copy that's in front of you."
Castro smiles when she announces the Mets players' names, to sound warmer. She also uses proper Spanish pronunciations, after confirming them with the players themselves.
For the record, Marysol is pronounced like mah-di-SOL — and nearly a third of MLB players are Latino.
Though they have the same job, Castro and Cosell rarely work together. Both mentioned a parody of "Monday Night Football," when Cosell wore a yellow blazer like his famous grandfather and Castro wore a period wardrobe.
A Stamford, Connecticut native, Cosell lives on Long Island with his wife and their puppy, Bagel.
"Despite the fact that baseball can be long and sometimes boring, you have to be ready for anything," Castro said. "At any given moment, someone could hit a home run. At any given moment, someone can run out on the field. ... It remains my first love. I love baseball. It really is the thinking person's sport."
Jane Havsy is a sports reporter for DailyRecord.com. For full access to live scores, breaking news and analysis, subscribe today.
Email: JHavsy@gannettnj.com Twitter: @dailyrecordspts
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