All About Nick Castellanos' Son, Liam Castellanos

Nick Castellanos knows he has at least one fan rooting for him at all times — his son, Liam Castellanos.

The Philadelphia Phillies star welcomed his son with his ex-wife Vanessa Hernandez on Aug. 1, 2013. Nick split with Hernandez four years later and married Jessica Gomez, who gave birth to their son Otto in 2022, making Liam a big brother.

While Liam primarily lives in Florida with his mother, he spends the summers in Philadelphia, where he can often be seen in the stands cheering for his dad. The team has even come to call Liam their lucky charm, per the Philadelphia Inquirer, noting that he was present for Nick’s milestone 200th home run and the Phillies’ pitcher’s no-hitter.

Phillies and baseball fans alike have pointed out Liam and Nick’s sweet relationship as the 2023 season has progressed. Whenever Nick hits a home run, he turns around and points to Liam, who is often beaming back at him. When asked in a press conference after an October 2023 game why he thinks people have become such big fans of their father-son bond, Nick responded that the love he has for his son is something people can relate to.

“But I think in a world where more and more phoniness is presumed real, something that is real, like a dad and son that love each other, can stick out,” he said. “I think when that combines with the love of baseball, people can be attracted to it. I just think that people can relate to that."

He added, “Because all of us as humans, we all love the same, we all hurt the same. Not everybody can relate to playing Major League Baseball, but everybody can relate to just loving life with your child or your parent.”

From his schooling to his budding baseball career, here’s everything to know about Nick Castellanos’ son Liam.

Liam was born in August 2013

Nick was only 21 years old when he welcomed Liam with his high school girlfriend on Aug. 1, 2013. One month later, Nick made his major league debut with the Detroit Tigers. The right fielder stayed with the team for another six years.

He is homeschooled in Florida

After Liam seemed to be somewhat of a lucky charm since he started appearing at Phillies games, fans joked on social media that they would do anything for the 10-year-old to stay — including homeschooling him!

In an October 2023 post on the Phillies’ Instagram page, fans left comments like “Let him do his school work here for the rest of the month.” and “I will do lil bro homework for the rest of the year. Keep him at all the games!!!”

In response, Liam’s stepmother, Jessica, tweeted that Liam’s education is already taken care of as his grandmother homeschools him in Florida.

“PSA: LIAM IS ALREADY HOME SCHOOLED BY HIS NANA,” she wrote. “Thank you all for the offers of teaching him, traveling with him back and forth from Florida, and the option of you guys doing his homework for him. But we’re good he’s here and we’re doing SWELL, happy red October !”

Whenever Liam is in Florida, Nick struggles with the distance between him and his son.

“As he starts his journey on becoming a man — school and jiu-jitsu and baseball, I’m only hearing about it through a phone across the country,” Nick told The Athletic in October 2023. “That’s very heavy for me. It’s a heavy weight for me to bear because of how up-my-ass my dad was with me every single day. Every day, every morning, every night. That constant hammering made me — in quotations — ‘great.’ You know? That’s what my father was for me. As he’s getting older, the more and more I feel that I fall short of what my dad was for me.”

He is a big brother

Nick and his wife Jessica welcomed their first child together, Otto, on May 4, 2022. Liam has enjoyed being a big brother since, with Nick often posting pictures of the two together.

Liam even helps his little brother understand baseball as they sit in the stands together. For Father’s Day in 2023, the MLB gave mics to two sons of players, including Liam. In one of the clips from the day, Liam holds Otto in his arms and points out their dad to him as he plays on the field.

As Nick was about to step onto the plate, Liam held up Otto and said, “It’s dad! Dad’s up!” Then, when Otto pointed to the wrong player, Liam adjusted his view, saying “No that’s not dad, that’s dad.”

Later in the video, Liam complimented his brother’s “kicks” and shared that when they brought the baby to postseason games in 2022, some people questioned the decision since they were particularly important games.

“During the postseason we would walk around with him in our hands and they’d be like, ‘Why’d you bring a baby to the game?! What are you doing?! It’s the postseason, everything’s crazy!’ ” he said. “This baby matches the environment, he’s crazy too.”

He is his dad’s biggest supporter

More than maybe anyone else, Liam is incredibly supportive of his dad’s career. Clips of his reactions to Nick’s games have gone viral, including ones of him clasping his face in shock and celebrating with the team at a bar near the ballpark in October 2023.

Liam also talks to his dad before games, chatting with him by home plate before Nick gets ready to hit the ball.

“He tells me to hit it over the fence every time,” Nick said. “It is a good thing because I have to swing hard to be able to do that.”

Even just hearing “Good luck, dad!” before a game helps Nick remember what’s important, the athlete told the MLB in May 2022.

“It reminds me how unimportant whatever happens is,” Nick said. “It also reminds me of how important whatever happens is. Because if I do it, that’s amazing. It’s a memory for him. If I don’t, at the end of the day it’s a game.”

In the Father’s Day clip, Liam wishes his dad luck and roots for him during the game, yelling “Atta boy!” and “What a run!” at various points.

Nick teaches Liam important life lessons

Liam’s favorite thing about his father is what Nick has taught him about staying present in the moment, he said in the Father’s Day video.

“He’s got a lot of great qualities,” Liam said when asked what the best thing about his dad is. “His mindset. He’s never stuck in the past and he’s always worrying about the present. You can’t change the past.”

Beyond staying focused in the moment, Nick said growing up on the baseball pitch has also taught Liam a number of other valuable lessons, like being respectful of other people.

“It’s a cool environment,” Nick told the MLB in May 2022. “He gets to meet a lot of adults, so he learns to talk to a lot of adults. He learns how to be put in his place if he touches other people’s stuff or whatever. It’s a place where there can be a lot of growth.”

He added, “I still want him to be a kid and have fun, but it’s learning the line of fun and being respectful of others. But I don’t want to turn him into a robot, you know?”

Nick seems to be succeeding in teaching Liam how to be a kind person as the budding baseball player gifted a foul ball a fan gave to him to another kid at a May 2022 game.

Liam has a budding baseball career

The apple may not fall from the tree for Nick as Liam has taken an interest in baseball as well. Since he was a baby, Nick has been priming Liam for success as a baseball player, Liam shared in the Father’s Day video.

“I’ve kind of grown up at the stadium,” he said. “I started doing some stuff when I was just born. At that point, my dad would chuck ping pong balls at me.”

Jessica, who was also in the clip, clarified that Nick was testing Liam’s reaction times. Liam has since picked up a thing or two from his dad and other baseball legends, including retired pitcher Roger Clemens who threw Liam a few balls in June 2023.

As he prepared to practice with Clemens, which was documented in the Father’s Day clip, Nick gave his son a few pointers, like using a bigger bat, saying, “I only care about you swinging hard that’s it.” Liam earned some praise for Clemens after he successfully hit his pitches.

On top of training him himself, Nick is hopeful Liam will follow in his footsteps one day.

“I’d be lying if I said it didn’t cross my mind,” Nick told the MLB. “It doesn’t guarantee anything. But look at the greatest players in the game right now. You’ve got [Bo] Bichette, you’ve got Vladimir Guerrero [Jr.], you’ve got Fernando Tatis [Jr.]. You know? Bloodlines are a real thing.”

He has done charitable work

Liam’s grandmother Michelle shared that in addition to supporting his dad, Liam was also working on making donations to charity in October 2023. She tweeted that he was brainstorming a “new Philly shirt,” the proceeds of which they planned on donating to charity.

Michelle asked her followers for any suggestions of where they could donate the money they raised to help Philadelphia nonprofits.