Bettors flock to Castellanos' home-run market following Pope's death
By now, sports fans and bettors know the lore. Philadelphia Phillies slugger Nick Castellanos is famous for hitting home runs during inopportune times and on days when significant events occur.
It started when Castellanos homered as broadcaster Thom Brennaman apologized for using a homophobic slur, creating an unforgettable sports meme still used today. In the years since, Castellanos has continued to hit home runs during awkward moments, including one that came while the Kansas City Royals' broadcast eulogized a World War II veteran.
Here is the Royals broadcast of the Nick Castellanos home run.
— Nick Kirby (@Nicholaspkirby) July 6, 2021
They were eulogizing someone live on the air when it Nick went deep to left-center field.
You can not make this stuff up.
Credit to @hjodoyle for the tip. pic.twitter.com/iA2grIKY61
What started as untimely home runs during broadcasts then became homers that coincided with significant world events. Castellanos went yard on the day I-95 collapsed in Philadelphia, as well as the day President Donald Trump experienced an assassination attempt. He also hit his first professional home run on May 1, 2011, the same day Osama Bin Laden was killed.
When sports fans woke up Monday to the news that Pope Francis died, bettors raced to do one thing - bet on Castellanos to hit a home run. The Phillies' right fielder to hit a home run is the most-bet player prop of the day across all sports by total bets and money wagered on theScore Bet/ESPN Bet. It's unprecedented for a baseball prop to see that much action during a game in April, especially when the NBA and NHL playoffs are also taking place. The influx of action forced oddsmakers to drop Castellanos' home-run price from +800 to +475.
"The narrative around Castellanos is well-known, and this isn't the first time we've seen bettors flock to his home run prop," Adrian Horton, head of North American trading at theScore Bet/ESPN Bet, said.
Some fans believe everyone has lost the plot. Castellanos certainly doesn't blast one into the stands following every woeful event. But there's no doubt he still attracts attention from bettors and sends social media into a frenzy.
The Phillies are slight road underdogs (+105) Monday night against the Mets (-125), their divisional rival. Castellanos, who has three home runs in 79 at-bats this season, has the same odds as Bryce Harper, while Mets sluggers Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso have the shortest odds to go yard at +450.
If the 13-year vet blasts one deep Monday night, Castellanos will quickly trend on social media as bettors rejoice.
Sam Oshtry is a sports betting writer at theScore. You can follow him on X @soshtry for more betting coverage.