Veteran Phillies outfielder Nick Castellanos is a valuable contributor on the defending National League champions. He's a .276 lifetime hitter, and either this year or next, he'll likely surpass 200 home runs.
He is, however, doomed to be remembered forever for a home run he hit in the fifth inning of the Reds' 5-0 win over the Royals on Aug. 19, 2020. The home run caught then-Cincinnati play-by-play announcer Thom Brennaman in the middle of apologizing for making a homophobic comment on the broadcast.
"I can't tell you how much I say from the bottom of my heart I'm so very, very sorry," Brennaman said that night. "I pride myself and think of myself as a man of faith, as there's a drive into deep left field by Castellanos and that'll be a home run. And so that'll make it a 4-0 ballgame. I don't know if I'm going to be putting on this headset again. I don't know if it's going to be for the Reds. I don't know if it's going to be for my bosses at Fox."
On Sunday, Castellanos made a rare gesture on Instagram toward one of the most well-known baseball memes of the social media age.
"And there's a deep drive... Phillies '23," he wrote, captioning a promotional shoot ahead of Philadelphia's spring training in Clearwater, Fla.
The Phillies are scheduled to open exhibition play against the Tigers on Feb. 25.
