As sports fans, we sometimes forget that these athletes we measure their value based on statistics and performance have families, but Philadelphia Phillies slugger Nick Castellanos and his son Liam have done an excellent job reminding us.
The connection between father and son is a special one, but in the context of a professional athlete, there's something extra special about it.
Nick and Liam Castellanos have such an awesome father/son dynamic pic.twitter.com/nbxQMT4GLm
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) August 9, 2023
Castellanos, who plays for the Philadelphia Phillies, landed with the team after spending time with the Detroit Tigers, Chicago Cubs, and Cincinnati Reds. He signed a five-year, $100 million deal with the team on March 18, 2022. He's married to Jessica Castellanos, but he had Liam with his ex-wife, Vanessa Hernandez.
As you can see in the clip above from Tuesday night's game against the Washington Nationals, his son Liam is found in the front row right behind home plate, where he gets his dad's attention and does his best base coach impression, giving him a sign to which Castellanos, 31, responds with a thank you.
MVP of the game: Liam Castellanos. Dude was everywhere. pic.twitter.com/AqMAZ7Ix9r
— halle (@hallesversion) August 10, 2023
Liam is a frequent onlooker at his dad's games, including the recent no-hitter pitched by Michael Lorenzen against the Washington Nationals.
On Father's Day, Liam was filmed talking about his dad for over a minute. In the clip, he wished his dad good luck, gave him a pep talk, discussed his qualities, was seen on the field with him, and took batting practice. Jessica Castellanos asked Liam what the best part of his dad is.
"That's hard. He's got a lot of good qualities. His mindset. He's never stuck in the past and he's always worrying about the present. You can't change the past," Liam said.
This video of Nick Castellanos and his son Liam is so awesome 🥹 pic.twitter.com/xf7vLdeJwu
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) June 18, 2023
Liam looks up to his dad in a way that can't help but pull on your heartstrings and aspires to be a baseball player.
Castellanos, 31, is batting .277 on the year with 19 home runs, 70 RBIs, and seven stolen bases. It's safe to say we can expect to see Liam in attendance rooting his dad on for most of the rest of the season.
MORE: Michael Lorenzen's No-Hitter Put His High School in Unprecedented Company