MILWAUKEE − When the corks popped and the alcohol started to splash in the visitors clubhouse at American Family Field, the Castellini family was right in the middle of the action.
Cincinnati Reds principal owner Bob Castellini and other members of his family soaked in the postgame clubhouse scenes after his club clinched a trip to MLB’s 2025 postseason.
As Phil Castellini, president and chief executive officer of the club, made his way through the room offering beer-soaked handshakes and salutations, he told The Enquirer he was happy for Reds fans everywhere.
“This is just the beginning,” Phil Castellini said. “Lot of work to do but this is just the beginning. Glad to be here. It means so much to the fans. We can’t be more happy for them. This team has been in it all year, up and down.”
Asked what first-year Reds manager Terry Francona meant to the 2025 club, Phil Castellini said: “Everything.”
The Reds went 83-79 in Francona’s first season at the helm of the club. They went 9-4 down the homestretch of the regular-season to eek into the playoffs.
“The right guy at the right time and we’re gonna do a lot of special things with Terry Francona,” Phil Castellini said.
Should the Reds survive their best-of-three wild card round assignment against the Los Angeles Dodgers, postseason baseball would return to Great American Ball Park for the National League Division Series for the first time since 2012.
For the 2025 season, Bob and Phil Castellini gave their front office a payroll budget of around $119 million. That ranked among the lowest payrolls in the game but almost the same as the Milwaukee Brewers, with only the Cleveland Guardians behind them in the 2025 MLB playoff field.
The sum was enough for Cincinnati to reach the postseason and earn a date with the $350 million, reigning World Series champion Dodgers.
The Reds will open their postseason run Sept. 30 at Dodger Stadium (9:08 p.m. ET).
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Phil Castellini says ‘this is just the beginning’ for Cincinnati Reds
