Phillies: The passing passion of Nick Castellanos?

One of the unpleasant stories of the Philadelphia Phillies push to make the playoffs by spending money is the early ’22 performance of Nick Castellanos.

We’re going to pause here for some head shaking, and a definition for those mulling over the title of this piece. The word passion has a modern sultry definition, calling to mind, say, the lovers in romantic or noir films – think Kathleen Turner and William Hurt in Body Heat, perhaps.

However, those who have been taught Christian religious stories will also recall the story of the passion of Jesus of Nazareth, the torturous last days of this religious figure, ending with his crucifixion.

Phillies outfielder Nick Castellanos may have begun to emerge from a horrible half-season.

Those last hours of the carpenter should now connect in your mind to the beginning of Nick Castellanos’ career in Philadelphia because the first few months of that incipient career have been nothing so much as torturous. Philadelphia Phillies fans and Castellanos himself have all had to endure far too many flailing swings and misses by the lanky outfielder who was hired last March specifically to hit baseballs for five seasons for $100 million.

Indeed, back in March, Castellanos told reporters, “I don’t have a college degree. I hit baseballs.”

This delighted even jaded scribes back then, but the problem was that once Castellanos started to play games that counted, he didn’t actually hit baseballs that well.

At the end of April, the outfielder was hitting .300, but had only five doubles and 12 RBI. Then things slowly turned very sour. By the end of May, Castellanos’ BA had dropped to .258, and by the end of June ten more points disappeared.

People began muttering about $100 million, and late in July the right fielder snapped at a reporter about a “stupid question,” and fans noticed. Castellanos was obviously frustrated with himself, especially with unsuccessful at-bats with runners in scoring position.

A USA Today writer noted that at the time of this incident, Castellanos was hitting .218 for his last 270 PAs.

So, what’s an overpaid star player to do when suffering through a passion like this?

The answer may well be: Snap at a reporter.

Beginning with the game after his kerfuffle with NBC’s Jim Salisbury July 23, Castellanos has gone 13 for 34 (.382). Yes, only two of those hits were against the Braves, with the others against the Cubs and Pirates, but what does that mean as such?

The Cubs swept the Phillies in Philadelphia, but the Phils won two of three against Atlanta, then swept the Pirates in Pittsburgh.

Castellanos only drove in three runs in that stretch and had only two doubles, but he scored four, and one RBI came in the one-run win July 28 in Pittsburgh.

So, let’s modify that strategy for ending a funk – the Castellanos Method seems to be a) snap at a reporter and b) hit a bunch of singles. Put the bat on the ball. Don’t overswing.

It remains to be seen whether Nick Castellanos has truly broken out of his three-and-a-half-month slump, and whether he will be an important piece in the Phillies push to make the playoffs.