Nick Castellanos is here to do two things. Chew bubble gum and hit home runs while Major League Baseball announcers discuss somber and heavy topics. And he’s all out of bubble gum.
The Philadelphia Phillies cruised to a 10-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves in Game 3 of their NLDS series on Wednesday night. By the time the eighth inning rolled around and Castellanos stepped to the plate, Philly was already up 8-2. That’s when the TV booth took some time to send some love to former Phillies manager Charlie Manuel, who is currently improving from a stroke. They showed footage of Manuel taking some swings during his physical therapy session in what was a heavy but appreciated segment.
When they cut back to the game, Castellanos launched a home run to left-center to give Philadelphia even more breathing room in the rout.
Stop us if you've heard this one before. An announcer discusses something somber and then Nick Castellanos hits a home run. pic.twitter.com/La30JFj1li
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 12, 2023
This is, at least, the fifth time Castellanos has interrupted a serious TV moment with a hit. The iconic initial instance happened in August of 2020 when Thom Brennaman was apologizing for saying a homophobic slur on the air. It happened again in July of 2021 when the Royals broadcasters were eulogizing a World War II veteran. It also happened in Spring Training last March, when Blue Jays analyst Buck Martinez was reading an apology from Blue Jays pitching coach Pete Walker for a DUI. And he hit a home run last year on Memorial Day right after Phillies broadcaster Tom McCarthy discussed the vacant seat at Citizens Bank Park to honor those who died in service.
We’ll even throw in the time Castellanos hit a home run on the two-year anniversary of Brennaman’s apology just to make it clear that, on some fundamental level, Nick knows what he’s doing, and he can’t be stopped.
Castellanos actually had two home runs on the evening, matching Bryce Harper, as the Phillies took a 2-1 series lead over the Braves.
