{{short description|American businessman and baseball franchise owner}} {{Infobox person | name = Bob Castellini | image = Bob Castellini (441-GD-07-NA14 PRW0364) (cropped).jpg |caption=Castellini in 2007 | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1941|9|23}} | birth_place = [[Cincinnati]], Ohio, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | alma_mater = [[Georgetown University|Georgetown]]<br>[[Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania|Wharton School]] | occupation = * Chairman of Castellini Company * Managing general partner of the [[Cincinnati Reds]] ({{mlby|2006}}–present) | website = {{official website|https://castellinicompany.com}} }} '''Robert Castellini''' (born September 23, 1941) is an American businessman from [[Cincinnati]], Ohio. From 2006 to 2026, he was principal owner and managing general partner of the [[Cincinnati Reds]], leading a group that purchased a majority share of the [[Major League Baseball]] (MLB) franchise from previous CEO [[Carl Lindner, Jr.]] Castellini is the chairman of Castellini Co., a fruit and vegetable [[Wholesaling|wholesaler]].His son, Phil Castellini, now takes his spot.
==Background== Robert Castellini was born on September 23, 1941, in [[Cincinnati]], Ohio.
Castellini earned a degree in economics from [[Georgetown University]] in 1963. He went on to earn his MBA from [[Wharton School]] in 1967. After graduating from Wharton, Castellini became executive vice-president at the Castellini Group of Companies, and then in 1970 became president of the company until 1992. He had been a part of the [[St. Louis Cardinals]]' ownership group and had previously invested in the [[Baltimore Orioles]].
In January 2006, Castellini was the head of a group who purchased the Cincinnati Reds baseball team. Castellini has been involved in baseball for over 30 years and once had a minor ownership stake in the Reds until it was sold in 1984. In 1989 he became a partner in the [[Texas Rangers (baseball)|Texas Rangers]] and in 1993, the [[Baltimore Orioles]]. Castellini describes himself as a lifelong fan of the Cincinnati Reds.
==Ownership of the Reds== After the [[2005 Cincinnati Reds season|2005 season]], the Reds had endured five consecutive losing seasons, the team's longest such streak in 50 years, under the ownership of [[Carl Lindner, Jr.|Carl Lindner]]. Castellini led a group that purchased the Reds from Lindner for $270 million, and in January 2006, Castellini was named the CEO of the franchise.<ref>{{cite web|title=MLB approves sale of Reds to group led by Castellini |url=http://www.espn.com/espn/wire/_/section/mlb/id/2298454|publisher=ESPN|date=January 19, 2006}}</ref> One of Castellini's first moves as CEO was replacing General Manager Dan O'Brien with [[Wayne Krivsky]] in February 2006. The Reds were more competitive in [[2006 Cincinnati Reds season|2006]], finishing in 3rd place in the [[National League Central|National League (NL) Central division]] at 80–82. In the winter of 2006, Castellini introduced new uniforms for the Reds. Under Castellini's ownership in [[2010 Cincinnati Reds season|2010]], the Cincinnati Reds won their first National League Central division championship since the [[1995 Cincinnati Reds season|1995 season]]. From 2014 to 2019 they finished no higher than 4th place in the Central division including 4 straight seasons in last place, losing more than 90 games each season. In 2020 they made the playoffs in the COVID-19-shortened season with an expanded playoff field but were beaten by the Atlanta Braves, 2–0.
Despite telling Reds' fans "We're buying the Reds to win. Anything else is unacceptable, "<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2006/01/16/daily52.html/|title=Castellini promises Reds fans a winner|date=January 16, 2006}}</ref> the Reds have the 22nd most wins during his ownership (record: 1,193–1,297), five winning seasons (tied for 22nd in the league), and are one of only seven teams to fail to make their league's championship series.
Following the end of the [[2021–22 Major League Baseball lockout|2022 MLB lockout]], the Reds went on an apparent [[Fire sale (sports)|fire sale]], leading to several fan protests over Castellini's ownership of the team and asking him to sell.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wlwt.com/article/cincinnati-reds-fans-protest-after-trades-jesse-winker-sonny-gray/39445966|title=Reds fans protest team trades ahead of the season|date=16 March 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fox19.com/2022/03/15/reds-fan-planning-protest-outside-great-american-ball-park-after-trades/|title=Reds fan protest trades outside Great American Ball Park|date=15 March 2022 }}</ref> The Reds season started badly as their record stood at 3-22 through their first 25 games of the 2022 season.
Castellini's son, Phil,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Watkins |first1=Steve |title=Walking and talking with Cincinnati's biggest dealmaker Bob Castellini |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/blog/2015/05/walking-and-talking-with-cincinnatis-biggest.html |access-date=12 April 2022 |work=www.bizjournals.com |publisher=[[American City Business Journals]] |date=May 15, 2015}}</ref> worked as the team's Senior Director of Business Operations.<ref>{{cite book |title=Baseball America Directory 2007: Your Definitive Guide to the Game. |date=2007 |publisher=[[Baseball America]] |location=Durham, N.C. |isbn=978-1-932391-15-2 |page=32 |edition=23rd annual |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EXno1qQKoyIC&pg=PA32 |access-date=12 April 2022 |language=en}}</ref> Following the 2007 season, he was named the team's [[chief operating officer]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lingo |first1=Will |last2=Badler |first2=Ben |last3=Blood |first3=Matthew |last4=Cooper |first4=J. J. |last5=Eddy |first5=Matt |last6=Fitt |first6=Aaron |title=Baseball America Directory 2008: Your Definitive Guide to the Game |date=February 2008 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-1-932391-20-6 |page=32 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=weJd81WQSfYC&pg=PA32 |access-date=12 April 2022 |language=en}}</ref> In July 2024, Bob handed his posts as president and CEO to Phil, though Bob remains head of the franchise.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.wlwt.com/article/cincinnati-reds-phil-castellini-president-ceo-promotion/61755725|title=Reds announce front office shakeup, promote Phil Castellini to president, CEO|author1=Matthew Dietz|publisher=[[WLWT]]|date=July 31, 2024}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *[http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051102/SPT04/51102012 Group buys Reds majority] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929173606/http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051102/SPT04/51102012 |date=2007-09-29 }}
{{Cincinnati Reds}} {{Cincinnati Reds owners}} {{MLB Owners}} {{MLB Presidents}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Castellini, Bob}} [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:20th-century American businesspeople]] [[Category:21st-century American businesspeople]] [[Category:American chief executives in the food industry]] [[Category:American chief executives of professional sports organizations]] [[Category:Businesspeople from Ohio]] [[Category:Cincinnati Reds executives]] [[Category:Cincinnati Reds owners]] [[Category:Major League Baseball executives]] [[Category:Major League Baseball owners]] [[Category:Georgetown University College of Arts & Sciences alumni]] [[Category:Wharton School alumni]] [[Category:Baltimore Orioles owners]] [[Category:Texas Rangers owners]] [[Category:St. Louis Cardinals owners]] [[Category:1941 births]]