A Juicy Nugget about Phil Castellini and the Reds Organization that You didn't Know Heading into the 2026 Season.

Phil Castellini, Mr. Red, and the mayor stand at Findlay Market before Opening Day

I worked for the Cincinnati Reds for the last 4 years, I’ve met and worked with just about everyone worth of value in the front office, including Phil, Karen Forgus, Nick Krall, and many underneath them. By no means did I ever make any executive decisions with them, but I conversed with them enough to know what was going on, such as going on road trips with Nick Krall during Reds Caravan. I don't work with the team anymore, and I couldn't be happier. I'll always be a Reds fan, as the team really belongs to the city if you ask me. The Castellinis have the final say on what goes on (for now), but this team has been a part of Cincinnati well before Bob was born, and it'll be here well after him and Phil are gone. Hopefully, someone else can take over the majority of shares within the organization so all of us can once again experience a World Series in Cincinnati (I get goosebumps just thinking about it). Unfortunately, us Reds fans are going to have to catch lightning in a bottle to be able to enjoy a World Series game in Great American Ballpark with this ownership, because these people love pocketing money as they reach into the bargain bin every offseason in hopes that one of these cheap players can find their spark. This team is relying on luck, and while luck can throw you a miracle in the 9th inning every once in a while, it will never throw you a World Series ring. Anything is possible though.

I've been a sports fan my entire life, and sometimes I wish I never worked for the team (overall, I'm really glad that I did). I know every professional sports organization is different, just like every major corporation; ownership will always vary between smart people, idiots, and cheap asses. Before I worked for the Reds, I always thought of the team as something to hold on to during life's stressful moments, and the team that I loved to represent everywhere I went. Now, I mainly look at it as an organization filled with wealthy idiots who genuinely don't care about what their fans think. All they care about is how much money they can put in their portfolios at the end of the year by charging the highest dollar people are willing to pay for tickets, concessions, and everything in-between. You don't have to believe me on this next one because I know it'll hurt, but I can assure you these people are laughing at you behind your back when you purchase one beer for $15, a jersey for $200, and a regular season ticket against a lousy team like the White Sox for $100. I wish people would stop supporting the outrageous prices, because I can promise you they will cut in half if everyone would just stop buying into the scam for a few weeks. That means everyone, though.

I wrote a book, and the Irish Pubs are just half of the story! Check out the excerpts!

I went to Bristol for a media shoot before our "Speedway Classic" game at Bristol Motor Speedway against the Braves last season. During our trip, I shared a Guinness with the guy who runs media relations, and he told me something about Phil Castellini that I never heard from anyone before. 

In case you didn't know, every opening day lands on a Thursday in Cincinnati, and it's tradition that the Reds play at home. They’ve always taken that Friday off and resume the series on Saturday. They do that as insurance in case the weather is bad, they can remake “Opening Day” on Friday, being that the city puts so much into Opening Day with the parade and everything else. It’s true what they say, nobody does Opening Day better than Cincinnati. Every season, the second game of the Red’s schedule lands on Saturday, also known as, “Kids Opening Day.”

The year Phil told everyone, “Well, where ya gonna go?” was the same year the organization was going to publicly announce Phil as the sole owner of the Reds. Before the first pitch, they were going to introduce Phil behind a pedestal and tell the crowd that he was the new face of the franchise. The year prior to that, was the year everyone was screaming, “Sell the team, Bob” and putting up billboards saying, “Sell the team, Bob.” The organization listened, and instead of selling, they said, “Alright, let's just tell the city that Phil is taking sole ownership over his dad, Bob.” It’s not what the public wanted, but at least it was a better look and somewhat of a fresh start. 

Well, Phil made the dumbass comment, and got immediate backlash. So immediate, to where the organization furloughed the plan to announce Phil as the head guy, and kept things the way they were. Could you imagine if the organization turned around and publicly gave the team to Phil just two days after making that comment? This city would have blown up. Phil and his family were getting death threats within hours of that comment. Apparently, he has stopped drinking, but that's not confirmed (not that I care if people drink, as I travel the country drinking Guinness like a fish).

The people who run this organization are not bright individuals, and you don’t need me to tell you that, although I can, I just wrote a book that references some of my experience working with the Reds, but it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to realize that the Castellini’s have been pocketing money while they reach into the bargain bin every off season. They pull in about $4.1 million dollars in revenue every home game (tv deals, radio, concessions, pro shop sales, tickets, in game advertisements, and more), while they give the fanbase “just enough.” As I’ve always said, this team has been two years away for two decades. 

I swear, the day they acquired Terry Francona was the day they really took advantage of the fanbase, because a couple of years after we got rid of Nick Castellanos and all of those other guys, we went on a Cinderella run and came up a game short of making it to the playoffs, and everyone looked at our prospects like Elly de La Cruz, Matt McLain, Spencer Steer, Encarnacion Strand, Hunter Greene, and multiple others in our farm system, and said, “Just give it a couple of more years and we’re golden.” Well, Terry stepped foot into the dugout on that “second year,” and what happened? We defaulted into the playoffs and gave the Dodgers exactly what they feed off of; a guy who throws fastballs. We got smoked. Now, so many people in the fanbase are buying into the idea of, “Well, you gotta give Francona a couple of years to get situated.” F8ck that, Francona is an established manager who broke the curse of the bambino, he doesn’t need to get situated, he came in with the winning roster that everyone believed in, and by a miracle he snuck his way into the playoffs because the Mets couldn't score any runs throughout their last 2 weeks of the season. This team needs an owner who will go out and get something rather than continuously reaching into the dollar bin at K Mart. 

They missed out on the hometown favorite, Kyle Schwarber, by offering him $125 million. A couple of weeks later, one of Toronto's best guys, Bo Bichette, got picked up by the Mets for the same price. Bichette is arguably in much better shape and has more potential than Schwarber as time stands. Did the Reds even try to give his agent a call? Or are they too stubborn to take someone from David Bell's American League Championship roster?

Phil Castellini just got booed at the Xavier basketball game recently, and I hope that all of you continue that trend. I’m the biggest Reds fan you’ll ever meet, and if you read my book, you’ll understand why. Take it from me, that if you want to see the city of Cincinnati achieve a World Series anytime soon, you have to do your part in forcing these cheap asses out of the ballpark. The public opinion does matter, and if you press hard enough, it’ll work. They bought the team for about $600M, which means they would make double their investment if they sold the team right now. They’ll sell if you force them to. Can we win a World Series with what we have? Sure, it's possible. Is it likely? No. We've been "hoping" for way too long. It's time for a serious change.

I have a lot to say about the Reds, and if you want to hear about some incredibly embarrassing stories about the organization, then you need to follow me and ask any questions you may have, because I probably have many of the answers. Anyways, that’s all I have for right now, kick some ass today and I’ll talk to you tomorrow. I'm excited for some of the weird backlash I'll get from this! Slainte.

Click the photo above to get your hands on my book, or to read some excerpts!