Nick Castellanos has done it again.
The Philadelphia Phillies slugger hit two home runs Wednesday night in a 10-2 rout of the Atlanta Braves in Game 3 of their NLDS. But it’s the second one, in the eighth inning, that left fans buzzing with an eerie sense of Déjà vu.
TBS broadcaster Brian Anderson began the bottom of the eight by sharing a report on former Phils manager Charlie Manuel, who recently suffered a stroke but has shown marked improvement.
Castellanos stepped to the plate to lead off as Anderson continued the somber report. And if you’ve followed Castellanos’ career the past few seasons, you could almost predict what would happen next.
And it did. Castellanos drove a pitch into the left-center seats for a home run.
For those unfamiliar with the Castellanos-hits-a-homer-during-serious-moment phenomenon, it’s become an Internet meme, it’s happened so often. Castellanos first pulled the feat in August 2020. Longtime broadcaster Thom Brennaman was right in the middle of apologizing for using a homophobic slur on the air. As he discussed what would turn out to be the end of his career, Brennaman didn’t even raise his voice as he announced Castellanos hitting a home run.
That incident was bizarre enough, but Castellanos has hit similar home runs at least four other times since then, including Wednesday. Awful Announcing has been keeping track:
• In July of 2021, Castellanos homered while Royals broadcasters eulogized a World War II veteran.
• In spring training in 2022, Toronto Blue Jays analyst Buck Martinez was right in the middle of reading an apology by pitching coach Pete Walker for a DUI charge when Castellanos went deep.
• Castellanos hit a home run on Memorial Day in 2022 after the Phils broadcast discussed an empty seat left at Citizens Bank Park to honor those who’d died serving their country.
Castellanos even hit a home run on the two-year anniversary of the Brennaman incident that started it all. Castellanos hitting a “serious” home run has become so common there’s even a Wikipedia page on the subject (“A drive into deep left field by Castellanos.”)
There’s a simple explanation for how this keeps happening. Castellanos hits lots of home runs (210 career regular-season homers). And lots of bad/serious/somber things happen. Occasionally the two forces will meet.
But social media didn’t want an explanation Wednesday after Castellanos’ latest “serious” home run. Fans just wanted to have fun.
I don’t know why producers and announcers even try to tell a story while he is up.
— Brian Carroll (@BCgolf) October 12, 2023
About Arthur Weinstein
Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.