Nick Castellanos' 2020 season won't be remembered for the 14 home runs that he hit, nor the 34 RBIs he drove in during the pandemic-shortened season.
Instead, Castellanos' first campaign with the Cincinnati Reds will undoubtedly be boiled down to one moment: when broadcaster Thom Brennaman paused in the middle of his apology for using a homophobic slur on a hot mic to announce a home run that the slugger had hit against the Kansas City Royals on Aug. 19.
But while it remains impossible to go on social media and not see a "as there's a drive into deep left field by Castellanos" joke, the 29-year-old has forced his way into the national conversation in 2021 for reasons other than being collateral damage in a much-maligned attempt at an apology.
Castellanos hit a go-ahead grand slam in the seventh inning of what eventually turned out to be a 12-4 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies Monday. It was part of a seven-RBI performance for Castellanos, who drove in nearly as many runs as the Phillies had hits in a make-up game Monday:
Although quite a few hitters have feasted when facing the Phillies bullpen in recent years, this wasn't a one-off performance for Castellanos.
After disappointing in his first season with the Reds - he hit .225 with a .298 on-base percentage - Castellanos is among the nine finalists to be a National League All-Star outfielder. Frankly, he deserves to be one of the three starters for the senior circuit, considering that he's slashed .347/.398/.604 with 15 home runs, 50 RBIs, a 1.002 OPS and a 3.5 fWAR thus far in 2021.
Castellanos began his career with the Detroit Tigers, a first-round pick in the 2010 MLB Draft. After spending parts of seven seasons with the Tigers, Castellanos infamously referred to Comerica Park as "a joke" in July of 2019, exasperated with watching balls die at the warning track that would go out in most parks.
Less than 10 days later, Castellanos was traded to the Chicago Cubs. As much as his comments may have rubbed Tigers fans the wrong way, he did homer 16 times in 212 at-bats with the Cubs, compared to 11 home runs in 403 at-bats with the Tigers that same season.
Castellanos has found his way to one of the sport's most hitter-friendly parks now in Great American Ballpark, and has asserted himself as one of the sport's best run producers in year two of a four-year/$64 million deal.
Sure, you may still think about the meme when Castellanos' name is brought up, but pretty soon you'll also have to mention "National League All-Star" when you say his name, and perhaps even "National League MVP candidate" if he continues at this pace.
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