Nick Castellanos' knack for hitting home runs amid major news comes full circle

Infamous sports broadcaster Thom Brennaman was re-hired on Sunday, four years after being exiled from the broadcast booth.

Shortly after news of Brennaman's new job was reported, President Joe Biden dropped his bid for re-election. And of course, Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Nick Castellanos homered, just four hours after the Brennaman news was announced.

By now, even the casual baseball fan should be familiar with some of Castellanos' "accomplishments."

The 32-year-old has consistently made a habit of hitting home runs during major, often somber, and even tragic world events over the last four years.

Looking back to Castellanos' minor-league days, the power hitter slugged his first professional home run on May 1, 2011. That was the same day when former President Barack Obama announced that Osama bin Laden had been killed.

Biden's announcement on Sunday was a historic one, as he became the first U.S. president in over five decades not to seek re-election. Former President Lyndon Johnson announced he wouldn't run for a second term on March 31, 1968.

Once the Biden news came out, it was destiny for Castellanos to go yard.

While Biden will exit in the fall after a four-year run as Commander-in-Chief, Brennaman returns following a four-year hiatus.

The former television voice of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Cincinnati Reds first got into trouble on Aug. 19, 2020, when he was caught on a hot mic using a homophobic slur. When the broadcast returned, Brennaman attempted to apologize, only to be interrupted by a "drive into deep left field by Castellanos."

Now, as he gets a second chance in the booth, the 60-year-old told Andrew Marchand of The Athletic that there were "no words to describe how grateful (he was) that they’re rolling the dice."

"They don’t have to do this," Brennaman said of the CW's decision.

While reflecting on the 2020 incident, he said "within seven hours" he was "basically fired from everything." That came after three decades of calling MLB games.

"Fox Sports dismissed him, as well. At Fox, Thom had been one of its top broadcasters for around a quarter century, working MLB, the NFL and college football. He was the No. 2 to Joe Buck for most of his Fox Sports tenure on both football and baseball," Marchand wrote. "He called college football’s national championship at one point and was on the mic for New York Yankees’ captain Derek Jeter’s famous flip relay against the Oakland A’s in October 2001. Brennaman said he wouldn’t change what he did because he believes in God’s plan for him. He has expressed this sentiment to his wife, Polly, reasoning he had gotten too full of himself."

Per Marchand's report, Brennaman will make his CW debut on Aug. 31 when Oregon State hosts Idaho State. The report added that he'll start his tenure as part of the network's Pac-12 package but will "predominantly work on the ACC."

That means that he could very well be on the call for some Boston College football games, who's starting quarterback is Thomas Castellanos (no relation to the two-time MLB All-Star).