The more we’re able, as fans, to humanize the players we’re watching, the more we feel inclined to both support their efforts on and off the field *AND* to enjoy their successes. Is it absolutely necessary to know that Javy Baez is a good dude to really enjoy the crazy El Mago stuff he does? Well, no. But does it help? Of course.
So today, enjoy a great read from Gordon Wittenmyer on the person that is new Cub Nick Castellanos. We’ve been enjoying the heck out of his performance with the Cubs, and now you can get a little more of a glimpse into the guy behind the big leg kick:
‘Death became very real for me’: How Nick Castellanos got even better at life and baseball#Cubs
https://t.co/QaaaCxuFDT via @SunTimes— Gordon Wittenmyer (@GDubCub) August 12, 2019
Castellanos, 27, seems to have absorbed the reality of being so close to having his father taken away in ways that translate powerfully to both life and baseball. As Wittenmyer points out, Castellanos has been on a tear since learning that his father was in remission nearly two years ago – .300/.349/.518 – and he doesn’t think it’s a coincidence.
‘‘That helped form the person that I am today,’’ Castellanos told Wittenmyer. ‘‘Nothing is permanent; everything is temporary. Not just my life, but my opportunity to be a major-league baseball player. So I’m going to be damned if my career is over, and I look back and say I didn’t give it everything I had every single day …. I remember getting to the big leagues because I was an extremely talented kid, not because I was an educated, hungry baseball player …. But I could have done a lot better, just preparing. I could have done a lot better taking care of myself.”
You gotta love that attitude, and also Castellanos’ attitude about his impending free agency. He says it would be wrong to focus on that right now when he’s in here with his new team trying to win a pennant. He’s got bigger things to worry about right now – which sounds even more like he has really absorbed those big picture “life” ideas. He’ll leave the extension speculation to the fans.
Read Wittenmyer’s piece for much more on the Cubs’ new outfielder. And read more on the unique impact Castellanos has had on the Cubs here.