Nick Castellanos has become synonymous with hitting home runs at the most inopportune times throughout the course of his 13-year MLB career. And on Monday, the Phillies broadcast team made light of that after his most recent blast against the San Francisco Giants.
The trend, of course, began when Castellanos, then a member of the Cincinnati Reds, “hit a drive deep to left field” right in the middle of Thom Brennaman’s apology for saying a homophobic slur during a Reds broadcast.
Since then, the storyline of Castellanos hitting untimely home runs has further evolved to tying the slugger’s blasts into historical events and trending news stories outside of sports.
Castellanos hitting a home run on the day that Joe Biden announced he would be ending his 2024 presidential campaign was a popular story last season. And prior to that, Castellanos has a laundry list of other times where he has interrupted somber moments from broadcasters in the past.
It became such a story that ESPN actually offered to do a feature on the topic last year, which Castellanos turned down due to a disagreement about editorial control of the piece.
Not only has that day lived with Thom Brennaman ever since the infamous home run call, it has also lived with Castellanos throughout the rest of his career. Any time that the two-time All-Star has hit a home run since, broadcasters and fans alike have tried their hardest to tie his home runs in with anything they possibly can.
Phillies color analyst Ruben Amaro Jr. did just that on Monday night, 113 years ago to the day that the RMS Titanic sank, by calling the home run by Castellanos a “titanic blast” on the NBC Sports Philadelphia broadcast.
“And a high fly-ball to deep left-center field. That one is gone. Home run for Castellanos,” said longtime Phillies play-by-play broadcaster Tom McCarthy on the call in the bottom of the fifth inning.
“He did not hang one to Bryce Harper,” added Amaro Jr. “But he did hang one to Nick Castellanos. And Nick did exactly what you are supposed to do with it. Especially the way that he’s been swinging the bat. That is a Titanic blast… Too much?”
“No, I think you are right on,” replied McCarthy.
Tom McCarthy may not have noticed the reference. But fans watching at home certainly did, chiming in on social media after the home run.
Considering how long ago the Titanic sunk, it’s safe to say that Castellanos didn’t exactly have Monday circled as a day that he needed to hit a home run. But credit to Amaro for pulling out this reference for the history buffs and keeping the longstanding meme around Castellanos’ home runs alive and kicking.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.