Ad Disclosure
The Recently DFA’d Nick Castellanos Didn’t Get Much of a Tribute Video from the Phillies
By Matt Schultz
Published:
With the Padres in town this week, our old friend Nick Castellanos is back for the first time since being released in February. Or, at least he was back for 24 hours, before the Padres designated him for assignment.
But it presented an interesting question nonetheless: Would the Phillies give Casty a tribute video on Tuesday?
The answer was… kind of:
The Phils went an interesting route here. I get that it can be complicated deciding which returning players get tributes and which don’t, but in my opinion, Nick deserves one. He was the everyday right fielder on a team that went to the World Series, for a franchise that’s been around for 143 years and has only gotten to the World Series eight times. He wasn’t perfect, of course, but he did have some huge moments here.
Remember his insane run in the 2023 NLDS against Atlanta? In those four games, he hit .467 with 7 hits, 4 homers, 4 RBIs and 5 runs scored. He became the only player in postseason history to hit 2+ HR in back-to-back games within the same series, doing it in Games 3 and 4. The guy went nuts. Remember how massive this felt?
How about his Game 2 walk-off against the Mets in the 2024 NLDS (only the fifth-ever walk-off hit in Phillies postseason history)?
His highs at the plate were unquestionably high. Then there’s the culture part of it; he played a huge role in building the image and vibe that the city loved (before the vibes died around 2025). He wore chains. Had interesting haircuts. His son was around all the time, which was kind of fun for a minute. He said some funny stuff. Remember when he said Scooby-Doo was a superhero? That was good stuff:
Anyway, all that to say, I’m of the opinion that a video tribute was in order. The Phillies only half-agreed. The video they put together was about eight seconds long and included only diving catches – which I think may be a subtle dig. We all know Casty wasn’t the world’s best fielder, and it shows even in his highlights. Those catches were huge, yes, but only because he’s so slow that they were almost hits. Also, the video was the ‘Chick-fil-A Nugget of the Game?’ Are tribute videos usually sponsored? I feel like they’re never sponsored. Why was this one sponsored?
Don’t get me wrong – I was as pumped as anyone when the Phillies released Casty. He was brutal toward the end, no question. But the guy was part of a beloved team and era here, and I think it would’ve been fine to give him something more than a fielding-centric chicken commercial.
Matt Schultz is a comedy and sports writer from Philadelphia. He’s written extensively for ClickHole, The Onion, and Conan O’Brien’s Team Coco. His work has been featured in Vulture, Deadspin, The A.V. Club, Paste Magazine, and other publications. Much of his sports journalism can be found on college basketball websites that don’t exist anymore (PhilaHoops Heads rise up…)