Watch Phillies Slugger Homer After Biden Exits Presidential Race

Nick Castellanos did it again, he hit a home run that coincided with yet another noteworthy event on Sunday.

Jul 21, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies right fielder Nick Castellanos (8) circles the bases on a solo home run against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the ninth inning at PNC Park. The Phillies won 6-0. / Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

When U.S. President Joe Biden announced that he was exiting the 2024 Presidential race, it prompted a lot of reaction.

That included baseball fans who have come to know that Philadelphia Phillies slugger Nick Castellanos has a sense of timing — good or bad — when it comes to events like this, big or small.

It seems the veteran outfielder knows when to make a big hit, usually a home run, when something like this has grabbed the attention of the country.

Sunday against the Pittsburgh Pirates was no different. Castellanos even kept people on the edge of their seats.

He waited until about two hours after Biden’s announcement hit, but in the top of the ninth inning he did what he usually does in moments like this — he hit a home run.

Nick Castellanos puts an exclamation point on the @Phillies Sunday. pic.twitter.com/bd6edUrcsl

— MLB (@MLB) July 21, 2024

Biden became the first sitting president since Lyndon B. Johnson to decide to not run for a second term in office.

But Castellanos’ unique timing has become an inside joke in the baseball world and The Sporting News has kept track of it since 2020. Baseball fans know the origin story.

That season, Cincinnati Reds announcer Thom Brennaman was in the midst of apologizing on air for using a homophobic slur on a hot mic during a broadcast, which later led to his resignation.

In the middle of the apology, Castellanos hit a home run, prompting Brennaman to interrupt the apology by saying Castellanos hit “a deep drive into left field.” His call has become a meme for its awkwardness.

Oddly enough, the same day Biden stepped aside Brennaman was announced as one of the new play-by-play voices for college football on the CW in 2024.

Some of Castellanos’ moments have simpley come during awkward moments during vocal television broadcasts.

For instance, in 2021 he hit a home run while the Kansas City Royals broadcast crew was paying tribute to a 97-year-old World Ward II veteran that had just passed away.

In 2022 a Castellanos home run interrupted Phillies broadcaster Tom McCarthy as he paid tribute to servicemembers on Memorial Day.

But this year he’s taken it up a notch, whether he’s trying or not. Castellanos hit a walk-off hit about an hour after the world learned that baseball legend Willie Mays had passed away.

Then, on July 13, Castellanos hit a home run about two hours before the assassination attempt on former U.S. President and current Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in Pennsylvania.  

It makes one wonder exactly how Castellanos does it?