Another Tuesday means another look at the list of the 10 longest home runs hit by the Cincinnati Reds during the 2021 season. Today we’re looking at the 8th spot on the list and it goes to none other than Nick Castellanos.
The Reds right fielder during this past season crushed the 8th longest homer of the year by a Cincinnati hitter on September 7th against Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Adrian Sampson that slammed off of the media box in center at Wrigley.
The Video
The Metrics Behind The Blast
A middle-in change up coming to the plate at 86 MPH from Adrian Sampson left the yard at 108 MPH off of the bat of Nick Castellanos to give the Reds two solo homers in the 1st inning of the game (Jonathan India led off the game with a 422-foot homer of his own).
Distance Metrics
Distance: 446 Feet
Reds Rank: 8th
Major League Baseball Rank: 220th (tie)
Nick Castellanos Rank (2021): 1st
Other Metrics
Launch Angle: 33°
Exit Velocity: 108 MPH
Reds Exit Velocity Rank (home runs only): 44th (tie) out of 222
MLB Exit Velocity Rank (home runs only): 1210th out of 5935
The Story Behind The Blast
Leading off the game, Jonathan India gave Cincinnati a 1-0 lead with a long home run of his own. He crushed a fastball from Adrian Sampson 422 feet for his 19th homer of the season. Two batters later it was Nick Castellanos that came through against Sampson, who thought he could deliver a change up in on his hands. He was incorrect and the ball caught a bit too much of the plate and Castellanos didn’t miss it as he cracked his 27th homer of the season to put Cincinnati up 2-0. They never relinquished the lead despite the Cubs hitting three home runs of their own on the day, with the Reds holding on for a 4-3 win behind a 7-inning, 1-run performance from Wade Miley.
You can follow along the entire series here
He will be missed. I’m not sure he’s worth a seven year $100 million plus contract though. I guess with the DH he might be.
Pretty sweet looking swing from where I sit. Maybe not quite as “easy” as the Beaumont Bomber, but still.
This will be a huge hole in the Reds outfield with no one decent to take over