Nick Castellanos' Home Run Prop Odds Plummet After News Of Pope Francis' Death

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The death of Pope Francis on Monday had a direct impact on baseball betting odds in the United States, and believe it or not, it makes complete and total sense.

In recent years, Philadelphia Phillies star Nick Castellano has made it a bit of a habit to hit a home run on days when significant news unfolds. Given the news of the Pope's passing, bettors immediately checked to see if the Phillies were in action on Monday and hammered his home run betting prop odds. 

According to Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports, Nick Castellanos' home run odds jumped from +750 to +560 on FanDuel after the odds were actually locked on the site for a period of time on Monday. At the time of this writing, the odds have fallen all the way to +500.

This entire phenomenon of Castellanos hitting long balls in peculiar moments started in August 2020 when he hit a home run in the middle of the on-air apology by Cincinnati Reds play-by-play broadcaster Thom Brennaman, who was caught saying a homophobic slur on a hot mic.

One of the great memes in social media history was born in that moment.

Again, this was only the start of Castellanos' ill-time home runs.

In July 2021, he homered while the Kansas City Royals' broadcast was eulogizing a World War II veteran who died two days prior. In May 2022, a similar scene unfolded when Castellanos went deep on Memorial Day just as the Phillies' broadcast team was paying tribute to fallen service members.

It goes on and on. In October 2023, Castellanos hit his second homer of Game 3 of the NLDS while TBS broadcaster Brian Anderson was sending well wishes to former Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel who had suffered a stroke the month prior.

Aside from the Brennaman apology home run, Castellanos' most-insane ill-timed long ball came on July 13, 2024. After hitting a two-run shot in a game against the Oakland A's earlier in the afternoon, President Donald Trump was shot in a failed assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Eight days later, Joe Biden announced he was dropping out of the presidential race, and you better believe Castellanos left the yard in the Phillies game against the Pittsburgh Pirates just two hours after the announcement.

Castellanos' most recent peculiarly-timed home run came on September 11, 2024. That one is self-explanatory.

It's no longer a coincidence. When things happen and Castellanos is playing a baseball game that day, the odds are very much in his favor to take one deep.

The Phillies play visitor to the New York Mets at 7:10 PM ET on Monday evening. 

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets, including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016, when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.