“There’s a drive into deep left-centerfield...”
He did it again
Reds outfielder Nick Castellanos has a knack for hitting home runs at awkward moments.
It was Castellanos who was at bat last August in Kansas City when Reds announcer Thom Brennaman was attempting to apologize for being caught using a homophobic slur and interrupted himself to call Castellanos’s solo dinger.
“From the bottom of my heart, I am so very, very sorry,” Brennaman said somberly. “I pride myself and think of myself as a man of faith—as there's a drive into deep left field by Castellanos. It will be a home run. And so that will make it a 4–0 ballgame.”
And then he continued with his apology.
The Reds returned to Kansas City for the first time since that game on Monday, and would you believe that Castellanos interrupted another solemn broadcast moment with a home run?
Royals announcer Ryan Lefebvre took a moment in the top of the seventh to pay tribute to George Gorman, the father of Royals equipment manager Patrick Gorman, who died on Saturday. Lefebvre appeared to be transitioning out of the eulogy when Castellanos jumped on the first pitch. The result was pure art.
“That’s a great life, 96 years. Pat, just like his father, went to KU. He also went to Bishop Ward High School,” Lefebvre said. “There’s a drive into deep left center field—and there’s never a great time to eulogize someone during the broadcast, so we apologize for the timing.”
Brennaman’s bizarre detour later became a meme, so you don’t even have to be a baseball fan to have the phrase “as there's a drive into deep left field by Castellanos” imprinted on your brain. Castellanos going yard again at the most awkward time possible is funny enough, but Lefebvre's nearly quoting Brennaman verbatim is almost too much to handle.
The best of SI
Suns-Bucks is an NBA Finals matchup no one saw coming, but it should be a great series. ... Shohei Ohtani isn’t Babe Ruth—he’s better. ... Tennis great Pete Sampras is shunning the spotlight in retirement and isn’t worried about his records being broken.
Around the sports world
Blue Jackets goalie Matiss Kivlenieks died Sunday night after being hit in the chest in a fireworks accident. ... Jessica Springsteen, Bruce’s daughter, was named to the U.S. Olympic equestrian team. ... Two top Australian jockeys are accused of breaking COVID-19 protocols by leaving isolation to attend toad races.
Josh Anderson’s OT game-winner to keep the Canadiens alive was a beauty
With all that orange, it’s not far off
“So that whole Jacksonville thing, was that a joke, too?”
Picture perfect from Messi
Brett Phillips’s pitching debut was the sports highlight of the weekend
Andrew Chafin’s shirt is fantastic
Cool story, cooler mustache
Doc Emrick’s NHL on NBC retrospective as national TV coverage moves to ESPN and Turner next season
Awesome update
Not sports
A California driver was issued a ticket for driving with a satellite dish attached to the hood. ... A Picasso painting found in a closet in Maine sold at auction for $150,000.
In case you wanted to spend $80,000 on a car and have it be harder to drive
John from Bridesburg had a better Fourth of July than you
A good song
Email dan.gartland@si.com with any feedback or follow me on Twitter for approximately one half-decent baseball joke per week. Bookmark this page to see previous editions of Hot Clicks and find the newest edition every day. By popular request I’ve made a Spotify playlist of the music featured here. Visit our Extra Mustard page throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories.