Nick Castellanos home runs at bad times: A timeline of the meme that won't quit
It's unfortunate, but it's truly the eeriest: Nick Castellanos, for whatever reason, hits home runs at some of the most inopportune times.
He's hit them on days when someone mega famous has died. He's unintentionally interrupted somber speeches on air (including the original "and there's a drive into deep left field by Castellanos" moment that became a meme).
It's gotten to the point where people are actually betting money on Castellanos going yard on days when big news breaks. So as we keep all of that in mind, here's a look at a timeline of those big home runs at eerie moments:
August 2020: The infamous Thom Brennaman incident
After the then-Cincinnati Reds announcer dropped a homophobic slur that was picked up on MLBTV, Castellanos interrupted his apology:
July 2021: He homered during a somber on-air moment involving Royals announcers
Everyone noticed this one:
March 2022: He won a game during a serious discussion on a Blue Jays broadcast
May 2022: He homered during a serious Memorial Day discussion
October 2023: He hit a dinger while the Phillies broadcast talked about Charlie Manuel
This just doesn't stop!
June 2024: He homered the day Willie Mays died
This has shifted from "interrupting on-air moments" to "homers on the day something big happens."
July 2024: Castellanos homers hours after Joe Biden drops out of the presidential race
And you wonder why people bet on it!
April 2025: He homers right after Alex Ovechkin broke the NHL record for career goals
Can't stop, won't stop.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Mets' positive momentum halted in frustrating loss to Nationals as familiar problems return
WASHINGTON — The Mets cannot afford to lose more games like Wednesday's. New York dropped a 5-4 decision to the Nationals on Wednesday night, with Kodai Senga digging an early hole and the offense falling short of a late-inning comeback. A modest three-game winning streak is over, and the Mets are now 6 1/2 games behind the Phillies. The Reds could tie New York for the final wild card with a late-night win in Anaheim. Advertisement On Tuesday, the Mets submitted their most complete performance in weeks — the kind that reminded you how they once owned the sport's best record earlier in the season. Wednesday was a return to the form of the past two months, during which they've been one of the National League's worst teams. For the Mets to qualify for the postseason, let alone advance once there, they will need better from Senga and an offense that slumbers too often against middle relievers. Let's start with Senga, whose last outing against Atlanta had been a promising step forward. He couldn't maintain that momentum on Wednesday against a Nationals lineup that entered the day with a sub-.700 OPS for the season. It started with a small mistake that snowballed. The right-hander had retired the first six Nationals on 19 pitches; his first inning, in particular, was about as sharp out of the gates as he's been all season. To start the third, he'd gotten ahead of Dylan Crews 0-2 before missing with four straight pitches out of the zone for a leadoff walk. (True, Senga's 2-2 sinker looked to catch the bottom of the strike zone; home-plate umpire Todd Tichenor, however, did not grant that slice of the zone all night, which is why Washington manager Miguel Cairo finished the game in his office rather than the dugout.) Crews ran on the first pitch to the following hitter, Drew Millas. Because Crews was running, catcher Luis Torrens reached his glove out to quicken his throw down to second, and Millas' swing knocked Torrens' glove clear off his hand. That was catcher's interference, putting two men on with nobody out. Those two runners scored on a C.J. Abrams infield single (on which Abrams beat Senga to the bag) and Josh Bell's sacrifice fly. An inning later, the contact was harder: Two doubles and a triple to score two runs, all on elevated secondary pitches when Senga was ahead in the count. A Bell homer in the fifth, on a cutter left up, made it 5-1 Washington. Advertisement The Mets have challenged Senga to be in and around the strike zone more; prior starts contained too many non-competitive pitches. Wednesday included the opposite, with too many deliveries catching meaty parts of the strike zone. 'A couple of pitches (were) middle-middle,' manager Carlos Mendoza said. 'Especially when he was ahead, he left pitches right in the middle, and they made him pay.' 'I was able to attack the zone well, but I couldn't finish them off,' Senga said through interpreter Hiro Fujiwara. Since he threw four scoreless innings in his return from injury just before the All-Star break, Senga has allowed 21 runs (18 earned) in 27 innings. That's a 6.00 ERA. He hasn't earned an individual win since June 12 — the afternoon against the Nationals when he injured his hamstring — and after going 13-4 in Senga's first 17 starts this season, the Mets have dropped the last three. Senga's next start will come on four days of rest on Monday against Philadelphia. He hasn't thrown on four days of rest all season. 'It should be no problem,' he said. It looked as if the Mets would get Senga off the hook in the sixth inning. Facing Nationals pitcher Brad Lord a third time, the lineup finally built a rally around two walks and two doubles to pull within one. That's when the Nationals turned a precarious lead over to the National League's worst bullpen. McNeil adds ✌️ more! — New York Mets (@Mets) August 21, 2025 But Cole Henry, Shinnosuke Ogasawara, Clayton Beeter and José A. Ferrer combined to throw 3 2/3 scoreless innings. Henry stranded the bases loaded in the sixth and Ogasawara, Beeter and Ferrer faced the minimum over the last three frames, requiring all of 26 pitches among them. It isn't the first time of late that the Mets have had a prolonged silent stretch against an opposing bullpen. It's happened in tight losses to Cleveland and Atlanta, as well. Advertisement 'We want to be aggressive in the strike zone, but we've got to swing at our pitches,' Mendoza said. 'At times we're swinging at pitchers' pitches when we're ahead in the count.' To make matters worse, Brandon Nimmo left the game in the second inning with a stiff neck. Nimmo has had to deal with occasional neck issues since a 2019 injury; he suggested he should be fine in the next day or so. He compared it to a similar bout of stiffness he experienced in May, when he left one game early and missed the next two. With the loss, the Mets dropped to 12-12 against the three teams behind them in the NL East: Miami, Atlanta and Washington. The Phillies are three games better against that trio; that's half the difference in the division right now. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Cincinnati Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson (thumb) out again, 'trending in right direction'
ANAHEIM, California – Cincinnati Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson missed a fourth straight start Tuesday, but manager Terry Francona said Stephenson's jammed left thumb had improved enough to catch Nick Lodolo's side session before the team's late game against the Angels. 'He is trending in the right direction,' Francona said. 'Just not yet.' Stephenson described hurting his thumb as a 'super random' occurrence when he caught an otherwise routine pitch from Hunter Greene last week. After the ensuring off day for the team, he started the opener of the weekend Milwaukee series, and it swelled up during the game. He hasn't started since but has been available off the bench. In his absence, veteran and former Gold Glove winner Jose Trevino caught every inning of back-to-back extra-inning games and the series-opening victory over the Angels three time zones away the next day. 'I don't think the average fan realizes, you can't just step in and catch extra-inning, extra-inning, day game, west coast trip – and he looks fine,' Francona said. 'That's because he works his ass off. That's not an easy thing to do.' Lodolo, who has been on the injured list the past two weeks for a finger blister, is expected to throw one more bullpen session this week before the team discusses a possible return from the IL to the rotation – possibly early next week against the Dodgers in Los Angeles, Francona said. Surgery for Reds pitcher Ian Gibaut Right-hander Ian Gibaut, who's been on the IL twice this season with a shoulder impingement is scheduled for arthroscopic surgery in the coming days after a latest exam with a specialist in Denver. Gibaut, who last pitched June 28, had a 4.62 ERA in 25 relief appearances this season. Reds pitcher Rhett Lowder to throw side in Arizona Right-hander Rhett Lowder, who impressed in a six-start, 1.17-ERA debut last season, is scheduled to throw his next rehab bullpen session Friday in Arizona at Chase Field before the Reds open a series there. Lowder, who opened the season on the IL as he continued to slow-play his buildup after an offseason forearm strain, suffered a significant oblique strain during a rehab game. He is not expected to return this season, but the club would like to see him prepare to pitch in the Arizona Fall League. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Reds injury updates for Tyler Stephenson, Ian Gibaut, Rhett Lowder
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
'Getting better': Still not 100%, Elly De La Cruz flashes speed again for Cincinnati Reds
ANAHEIM, California – Before the opener of the Cincinnati Reds' three-game series this week against the Angels, a Southern California writer asked Reds manager Terry Francona how much he appreciated Elly De La Cruz playing through the 'little quad' issue he's been dealing with much of the summer. 'I'm not sure I'd say 'little,' ' Francona said. 'I mean, that thing was pretty (not little). He's done a really good job.' Over the weekend Francona suggested the worst of the issue was behind De La Cruz. And then in the second game of the Angels series, the two-time All-Star shortstop flashed the kind of ground speed that backed up his manager – scoring twice from first on balls that barely reached the outfield. 'He's the only guy in baseball that scores on those,' Francona said. Asked if those 270-foot sprints that had been missing from his arsenal for more than a month were a sign the left quad injury is behind him, De La Cruz said, 'We're getting better.' So it's not quite 100%, he was asked. 'We're getting better,' he repeated. Whatever his level of quadriceps health, those two runs Tuesday night represented the winning margin in a 6-4 victory that lifted the Reds to a season-high seven games over .500 (67-60) and kept them just one game back of the New York Mets for the final playoff position in the National League. 'He's had to manage that quad for a while, and I think he's managed it really well,' Francona said over the weekend. 'I think he's coming through the other side of that to where his speed is up. It's not quite where it would be, but he's on this (improving) trajectory.' Whether it's impacted his power, De La Cruz – who leads the Reds with 19 home runs − has hit only one since June 23. He also leads the Reds with 31 stolen bases, but that's far off the pace of his league-leading 67 total last season, and he has just six attempts since the All-Star break (6-for-6). But he's still getting hits and getting on base, including a .263 average and .333 on-base percentage in his last nine games. The Reds are 6-3 in those games. 'It's about everything,' he said. 'We've got to find a way to win. Every day. Every day we play together and we find a way.' De La Cruz hasn't missed a game this season and is emphatic about wanting to stay in the lineup. Which didn't surprise the Reds' first-year manager. 'That reputation preceded me coming here,' Francona said. This story was updated to add a gallery. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Reds' Elly De La Cruz still not 100% but flashes speed again
