Report: Castellini apologizes to Reds workers for infamous ‘Where are you going to go?’

CINCINNATI (FOX19) - Cincinnati Reds President and COO Phil Castellini has issued a formal apology to workers within the organization for an unsubtle threat to fans about moving the team due to profitability, according to national baseball reporter John Heyman.

Heyman reports Castellini as having said: “My remarks were flat wrong and in no way reflect just how committed I am ... to the Reds and the city of Cincinnati. I let my frustration get the best of me.”

It is Castellini’s second formal apology for the infamous comments in which he told WLW hosts “Well, where are you going to go?” in response to a question about why fans should remain loyal in the aftermath of an offseason fire sale.

Castellini continued: “Sell the team to who? That’s the other thing: You want to have this debate? ... What would you do with this team to have it more profitable, make more money, compete more in the current economic system that this game exist? It would be to pick it up and move it somewhere else. Be careful what you ask for.”

Castellini doubled down on the comments in a news segment around an hour later. His first apology came after the game, a 10-5 loss to the Cleveland Guardians:

“I apologize to Reds fans and regret the comments that I made earlier today. We love this city, we love this team, and we love our fans. I understand how our fans feel and I am sorry.”

Castellini’s comments and the 11-game losing streak that followed caused unrest among Reds fans, who responded variously with umbrage, sarcasm and, perhaps worst of all, dwindling interest.

Former players haven’t exactly helped.

Current Philadelphia Philly Nick Castellanos last week gave ESPN the following: “What sucks is in a great city like Cincinnati where the fan base is impeccable, it’s suffocating because of ownership. I’m not saying that they are bad people. The system is bad.”

On Friday, Castellanos remarked the Reds organization didn’t bother to phone him after he opted into free agency last offseason.

Two days later, current Seattle Mariner Jesse Winker offered, “I’ve been playing my whole career to be part of an organization that wants to win.”

Meanwhile, the hashtag #SelltheTeamBob has gone viral on social media. For a time it graced a billboard beside I-75. Even the Florence Y’alls piled on.

Reds rookie phenom Hunter Greene took to Twitter Friday to plead for fan support. Hours later, attendance on a warm night for the first game of a homestand against the Cardinals barely cleared 20,000.

Fans showed up to games over the weekend with paper bags over their heads.

A plane flew over Great American Ball Park on Saturday with a trailing banner that read, “Where ya gonna go? Already gone. Thx Phil.”

The Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-1 Sunday to cap the losing streak. They pick up the bats again Tuesday for the start of a three-game series against the San Diego Padres.

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