Yesterday, the Phillies officially released outfielder Nick Castellanos after a tumultuous final year in Philadelphia. Eulogies of his time and ending in red pinstripes have been pouring in highlighting all of the good memories. These are in stark contrast to the picture painted by Phillies scribe Matt Gelb in his description of the bridges Castellanos burned in the clubhouse this season. On one hand, Nick was the first person to console a broken Orion Kerkering on the mound when the season ended. On the other, he crossed a line in showing up the manager in a game the Phillies were winning. How can he be both? Simple, he’s a Miami Guy.
What the hell does a middle-aged Philly fan have to say about Miami? Fair warning, this is going to get a bit autobiographical. I’ve lived in Miami for 20 years. My kids are Miami kids (as can be seen in one’s terrible choice in sports teams). Despite being a born and bred South Jersey guy, I absolutely love it here. That wasn’t always true. It took 3 years for me to “get it” and it happened in an instant. I was sitting in the legendary brutal traffic, and someone made a left turn from the 3rd right lane and instead of losing my goddamn mind, I laughed. It has felt like home since that moment. Does that make me an expert? Not even close. However, I think it gives me a perspective I can share with the Philly masses.
When most people think Miami, they think exactly what LeBron James did when he said he was taking his talents to South Beach. The Heat do not play in South Beach. South Beach isn’t even really Miami at all. That’s a playground. The rest of Miami is not that. It’s a grind. The weather is still great and the people are beautiful, but it is a place where real people live, real people work, and real people live their lives struggles and all. South Beach is for tourists. Nick Castellanos grew up in Miami and he is definitely not South Beach.
Different cultures have laid down roots in Miami for generations coming from Cuba, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and all over the place. What you end up with is very smalltown communities sharing one big city. It’s a beautiful thing. Everyone knows one another. My dentist is my wife’s cousin, I went to school with my kid’s little league coach (randomly), and I only need to pose a question out loud to be met with an “I know a guy.” Need help? You are going to get it. If you know someone, the people here are the friendliest you can find.
One of the problems with small towns is that they come with certain expectations. People are intensely loyal and have a lot of pride within their community. Do something to disrupt that and a small town does not forget. Try to make changes and they will be met with stubborn resistance. Trust is something that is hard to earn and impossible to get back. You need to earn respect, respect is not given. This is not a progressive big city despite the neon lights and lack of clothing.
What you end up with is someone just like Nick Castellanos. I see him and all his contradictions and they make sense. He seems like someone who will give you the shirt off his back before you even ask. Take his shirt without asking and you might get punched. Teammate not hitting? He’ll have his arm around them and will pick them up. Reporters asking him about his hitting and they are trying to antagonize him. Fans call to him in the outfield and he has nothing but respect for their time. Manager takes him out of the game and it is a personal affront. If you treat Nick Castellanos in a manner that he would not treat you then you have likely made an enemy for life.
I know a ton of Nick Castellanoses. All you can do is take them how they are. When it’s a friend, you know how to handle him. Stay out of their way when it’s not the right time and be there for them when they need it. That’s what they expect from you and expect in return. That’s tough to do in professional sports and especially in a media market like Philadelphia. This market pushes no matter who you are or our situation. While many athletes simply develop canned responses and a hard shell for the media, that was never going to be Nick Castellanos. Considering his struggles, the whole thing was amplified. They got pushy with him so he got pushy with them. Coaches tried to tell him what he was doing wrong, so he cut them off. The manager took him out of the game, and the trust was broken.
Is any of this the right way to handle things? Who am I to say. For better or for worse, this is Nick Castellanos. The Phillies probably should have known his personality before giving him a 5/$100m contract and definitely should have known it after several years with the team. It didn’t work in Philadelphia. Eventually, things got to the point where they were broken. It happens. Was there something Rob Thomson could have done to differently so that any of this never happened? Maybe. Maybe not. That’s the two sides of Nick Castellanos.
Personally, I’m going to miss Nick.1
- I already liked him, but sitting in the outfield one day, he played catch with my son and his buddy. He also donated signed merch to Autism Speaks charity down here. Just Nick being Nick. ↩︎
Philly Front Office 
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