Nick Castellanos took a page straight out of Gregg Popovich's book after delivering a walk-off hit for the Philadelphia Phillies in extra innings on Sunday. The outfielder was chosen as the postgame interview on ESPN with Nicole Briscoe and didn't offer up much when asked a few questions.
To set the scene, Castellanos drove in all three runs in the team's 3-2 win over the Atlanta Braves in what was a pivotal series for the NL East race. The veteran was just a minute or two removed from his game-winning single up the middle when he was handed the ESPN headset.
Fittingly, the first question was "What did you see there on that pitch?" A seemingly confused Castellanos paused before saying, "Umm, a four-seam fastball." An awkward pause that felt like a minute but was actually a second or two transpired but he was asked, "How did that go?"
Castellanos, again seemingly puzzled by the simple question, appeared to laugh before saying, "I mean, you saw the game, right?"
Listen, there's no right or wrong when it comes to how to handle postgame interviews. Would we like all athletes to be open and transparent and show emotion? Certainly, but at the same time, these athletes also get asked questions all the time and sometimes, they just don't have the time for ones that don't offer anything up.
That being said, Castellanos later put a bit more thought into his responses when he was back in the clubhouse talking with local reporters. When asked about the impact of the crowd in what was a sellout, Castellanos told NBC Sports that "It definitely feels like October's around the corner."
Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images
The Phillies move to seven games up on the Braves as the final month of the season kicks off. The team is right on the heels of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the race for the No. 1 seed in the National League. The Braves, meanwhile, now are only one game up on the New York Mets for the third and final wild card spot.
