Nick Castellanos fails to homer after being the most bet-on prop in all of sports on Monday
Nick Castellanos has made a habit of inserting himself into awkward or notable moments in recent history with home runs. It all started in 2020 with 'As there's a drive into deep left field by Castellanos…' when Thom Brennaman was trying to make a public apology during a broadcast.
no way did this just happen, this is not real pic.twitter.com/6ou1BkAhYW
— paco (@AllaireMatt) August 20, 2020
Since then, other sobering moments have seemingly coincided with a Castellanos homer, turning him into a subject of online fascination.
Castellanos has become so infamous that when Pope Francis died early on Monday, bettors rushed to bet on him to hit a home run. While some may find this distasteful, sportsbooks saw more action on the Castellanos homer prop than any other player prop in any other sport.
BetMGM had the Philadelphia Phillies outfielder listed at +775 to hit a home run Monday at the New York Mets. The odds moved to +550 after a rush of bets. The sportsbook said it was still the most bet-on market of the night across all sports.
There are more bets on Nick Castellanos (+550) to hit a Home Run at @BetMGM than:
Any team to winAny team to coverAny over/underAny player prop
In ALL sports. @Phillies outfielder NOT hitting a HR would be a good outcome for the sportsbook. pic.twitter.com/MzaS4FdWGN
— John Ewing (@johnewing) April 21, 2025
A whopping 97 percent of the tickets and 90 percent of the money on Castellanos' home run prop were on Castellanos to hit a home run. The doubters cashed in after he went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
At this point, even opposing pitchers might be aware of the phenomenon; it was all over social media yesterday in anticipation. Of course, no pitcher wants to go viral for giving up a home run. In Castellanos' first at-bat on Monday, he got ahead 3-0 in the count. Perhaps Mets pitcher Tylor Megill was trying to pitch around him? He ended up striking out three pitches later.
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Megill didn't avoid the zone on Castellanos' next trip to the plate. Megill struck him out on three pitches, all of which caught at least a little of the plate, according to MLB Gameday.
Castellanos popped out in the sixth inning, but gave one a bit of a ride in the eighth. He got a high fastball on an 0-2 count and took it 348 feet to centerfield, but that wasn't quite enough to make the internet explode.
'Castellanos' warning track fly ball gave us a scare last night, but thankfully it stayed in the yard,' said Seamus Magee, Trading Manager at BetMGM.
In the end, Castellanos' most notable action from Monday's 5-4 loss to the Mets was the SNY broadcast catching him eating an Uncrustable in the dugout. He's far from the only athlete to enjoy Uncrustables.
Nick Castellanos has a sandwich in the Phillies' dugout 🥪 pic.twitter.com/LQQEInFv5m
— SNY (@SNYtv) April 22, 2025
It remains to be seen if this will put an end to the joke, or if the internet will be back at it the next time something comes up that fits the narrative.
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