Communication assistant waits 50 years for dream job

SUMMERFIELD | When Joseph Quattrocchi was 8 years old, he made a bold choice for a future career,
“That’s when I first started listening to baseball on the radio and I decided that I wanted to be a play-by-play announcer,” said the communication assistant at St. Mark the Evangelist Parish in Summerfield.

Over the years, the now 59-year old earned a broadcasting degree and has done play-by play announcing for football, basketball and soccer. Baseball, however, proved to be tougher to land.

“The closest I got was in college, he said. “The school baseball team had an opening, but I didn’t get the job. It went to a fellow student who was one year younger than me.”

At least Quattrocchi was in good company. That student who beat him out was Steve Levy, who has spent more than 30 years broadcasting with ESPN.

“I figure if you are going to lose out on a job, it might as well be to the best,” he said with a smile.

Unexpectedly, Quattrocchi got his big break last summer.

“I was driving through Lake County and had my radio tuned to WQBQ 1410 AM in Leesburg and I was surprised to hear live baseball announced over the air.” He felt those childhood dreams resurface.

“When I got home, I picked up the phone and called the radio station owner and asked if I could have a shot at broadcasting baseball. He said ‘yes,’ and I felt like I was in heaven.”

WQBQ broadcasts select Leesburg Lightning games during the two-month Florida Collegiate Summer League. The Lightning are a wood bat collegiate summer baseball league team that plays its home games at Pat Thomas Stadium in Leesburg. Quattrocchi said many players have enough talent to be drafted by Major League Baseball.

“I was nervous during my first broadcast last July, but I did a lot of praying and called upon St. Gabriel, the patron saint of communications, to help me.”

Despite the lack of experience, Quattrocchi received enough favorable feedback that WQBQ asked him back this season. He is now their regular baseball play-by-play broadcaster.

“I would say to everyone not to give up on your dreams. Speaking for myself, it is too easy to put your hopes and desires up on a shelf or locked away in a closet,” he said. “No one knows what God has in store for you and His timing is perfect.”

Staff Report, July 11, 2024