The Castellanos Curse

Nick Castellanos ripping a drive to deep left during a military tribute on Memorial Day is the most inevitable baseball moment ever

On August 19th, 2020, baseball changed forever. On that fateful day, in the middle of an apology by Reds announcer Thom Brennaman for using a homophobic slur on the air, Nick Castellanos crushed a deep drive to left. Without batting an eye or lifting his somber tone, Brennaman called Castellanos’ home run before seamlessly returning to his apology. The moment, although serious, became an instant viral sensation.

But then something strange happened. The baseball gods were so enamored with Castellanos’ darkly comedic timing that they kept willing it over and over again. Less than a year later in Kansas City, Castellanos went yard in the middle of an eulogy for World War II veteran George Gorman, once more to deep left. The internet watched slack jawed and bemused, unsure whether to laugh or pen their condolences. Surely there couldn’t be a third time … could there?

On Memorial Day Monday—the most inevitably Nick Castellanos day of all days—Castellanos brought the trilogy to a rousing conclusion at Citizens Bank Park when milliseconds after the broadcast finished a tribute to the service men and women who had made “the ultimate sacrifice,” he bopped another one into the seats. Folks, we promise we’re not making this up.

Incredible scenes. Is there really a Castellanos Curse? Are broadcasters now holding their thoughts and prayers for his at-bats in search of a viral moment of glory? Is this some sort of government psyop measuring cititzens' tolerance for bad news when couched with a towering moonshot? The answer is out there … probably in deep left, if we had to guess.