Former Cincinnati Reds and current Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Nick Castellanos shared video on his Instagram account of himself hitting in a batting cage with the caption, "And there's a deep drive … Phillies '23," referring to an apology former Reds broadcaster Thom Brennaman made in 2020 for using a homophobic slur on the air.
Brennaman called a Castellanos home run in the middle of his on-air apology, and countless social media posts since have contained all or part of the following excerpt from it: "I pride myself and think of myself as a man of faith - as there's a drive into deep left field by Castellanos that will be a home run. And so that will make it a 4-0 ballgame. I don't know if I'm gonna be putting on this headset again."
Fast-food restaurant chain Wendy's joked about it last July. A couple of the most-followed MLB accounts - belonging to ESPN's Jeff Passan and the Pittsburgh Pirates - have done the same.
Castellanos bounced back from a disappointing pandemic-shortened 2020 season with the Reds to hit .309 with 34 home runs and 100 RBIs and win a Silver Slugger award for Cincinnati in 2021.
The Instagram post, from Castellanos:
Last July, Castellanos compared his first season with the Phillies - which he finished with a .263 batting average with 13 home runs and 62 RBIs in 558 plate appearances - to his first season in Cincinnati.
In April, Castellanos told Chris Rose that the Reds didn't call after he decided to opt out and explore free agency. And he had said in an ESPN feature that the Reds' fan base is "suffocating" because of team ownership.
After Castellanos signed a five-year, $100-million deal with Philadelphia, the Reds received an additional 2022 MLB draft pick.
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