Phillies’ Nick Castellanos unhappy about Ben Simmons house news leak

Phillies OF Nick Castellanos isn’t happy that fans knew he bought Ben Simmons’ house.

Ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies hosting Game 3 of the World Series on Tuesday, slugging outfielder Nick Castellanos joined MLB Network and shared that he is “really blessed” to bring the Fall Classic back to Citizens Bank Park in his first year donning red pinstripes.

“This has been the best baseball environment I’ve ever played in front of,” added Castellanos.

Then came an interesting part of the interview when Castellanos commented that he did not really understand Philadelphia when he first arrived. He noted that the first conversation he had in the city before Opening Day was with the head of security, who told him a sports radio show leaked his home address.

Castellanos is likely referring to an early April report from “The Cuz,” who reported that he bought the South Jersey house previously owned by former Philadelphia 76ers star Ben Simmons:

Castellanos expressed his discomfort with this news report, as he is “not one who wants to be a celebrity”:

"“I do everything I can to play here for everybody. When I don’t have a uniform on, I want to [be gone] and normal. I have my circle. To have people know where I live, it was just — it was taking a while for me to get accustomed to that.”"

Castellanos’ feelings are totally understandable. On the field, however, his statistics show that he actually had one of his better months of the season in April, slashing .300/.374/.475. He slashed just .234/.274/.414 in May and .223/.270/.291 in June, before bouncing back in July (.282/.295/.330), August (.300/.333/.500) and September (.357/.357/.357).

The Florida native continued:

"“I held on to anger and just feelings that are not conducive to being a kid playing baseball. When I’m at my best, [I am] not worrying about anything or thinking about anything. I’m not really somebody who has a regimented routine. It is just more when Nick is happy and he’s fun, usually good [stuff] happens out here. That’s the truth.”"

https://twitter.com/MLBNetwork/status/1587577222407360512

On a more positive note, the 30-year-old — who grew up a Florida Marlins fan — made note on MLB Network that winning a World Series has ripple effects:

"“I don’t know if I’m sitting here playing baseball if I don’t have memories of the 1997 World Series with the Marlins. I don’t know if I’m sitting here if I don’t have the 2003 memories of the Marlins — of going to those games, seeing how winning really brings together not just the team but a city. That’s memories for the players, but also memories for the fans, employees, everybody.”"

Entering Tuesday, Castellanos and his teammates are just three wins away from making this dream a reality for Philadelphia and the surrounding area.