Nick Castellanos is starting to hear the boos from frustrated Phillies fans, and he wasn’t in the mood to discuss it on Saturday.
After another loss to the Cubs, the disappointing outfielder was asked about the crowd’s negative reaction, which led to a verbal dispute with a reporter.
“Naw, man, I lost my hearing,” Castellanos said, when asked if he heard the boos. “Come on man, it’s a stupid question.”
The reporter, NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jim Salisbury, didn’t back down. He asked Castellanos why it was a stupid question, to which he said: “Can anybody else answer that for him, anybody?”
“It is what it is, man,” Castellanos said. “I’ve hit lows in my career and I go home and get ready to play baseball tomorrow.”
Signed to a five-year, $100 million deal in the offseason, Castellanos has been a major disappointment, slashing .245/.290/.366 with a woeful .657 OPS. He has just eight home runs and 46 RBIs after producing 34 and 100 last season as an All-Star for the Reds.
“It’s very similar to my first year in Cincinnati,” he said. “You go to a new organization, with new faces, new philosophy, new city, new energy. It’s nothing I can’t adapt to.”