BBTF's Newsblog Discussion :: Report: Reds OF Tommy Pham slapped Giants’ Joc Pederson over fantasy football disagreement

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Saturday, May 28, 2022

Report: Reds OF Tommy Pham slapped Giants’ Joc Pederson over fantasy football disagreement

For a while, it was hard to figure out what exactly what happened before Friday’s game between the Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants.

We knew a confrontation in the outfield escalated to the point two people had to be separated. We knew it didn’t reach any kind of brawl status, even though the Reds bullpen cleared. We knew Reds outfielder Tommy Pham was scratched from the lineup with no explanation right before a rain delay ended. And that was about it….

According to The Athletic, Pham slapped Giants outfielder Joc Pederson over a disagreement with their fantasy football league. Specifically, Pham reportedly slapped Pederson “Will Smith-style,” and we take that to mean the actor and not the Los Angeles Dodgers catcher or Atlanta Braves reliever, both of whom have been teammates with Pederson.

Pham told reporters Pederson was the instigator, according to The Mercury News. The two were apparently reheating an argument they had in a group text in a league involving players from several other teams.

RoyalsRetro (AG#1F) Posted: May 28, 2022 at 12:08 AM | 52 comment(s) Login to Bookmark
Tags: joc pederson, tommy pham

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1. sanny manguillen Posted: May 28, 2022 at 07:42 AM (#6078787)

So how much do guys making $6 million a year bet on their fantasy teams?

2. Pat Rapper's Delight (as quoted on MLB Network) Posted: May 28, 2022 at 09:46 AM (#6078792)

Just so long as they're not gambling on their fantasy baseball teams.....

3. The Duke Posted: May 28, 2022 at 10:57 AM (#6078797)

Pham told investigators that Joc was the instigator. Yeah, right, that's believable.

4. jacksone (AKA It's OK...) Posted: May 28, 2022 at 12:24 PM (#6078801)

Nice of Pham to clear up any doubts about him being an #######.

5. Itchy Row Posted: May 28, 2022 at 12:45 PM (#6078804)

This will lead to an NFL player slapping another one because Pham didn’t play in their rotisserie league.

6. Howie Menckel Posted: May 28, 2022 at 12:51 PM (#6078807)

the details in TFA are wonderfully nerdy:

"We were in a fantasy league together. I put somebody, a player, on the injured reserve when they were listed as out and added another player. There was a text message in the group saying that I was cheating because I was stashing players on my bench. I looked up the rules and sent a screenshot of the rules, how it says when a player is ruled out, you're allowed to put him on the IR. That's all I was doing.

"It just so happened that he had a player, Jeff Wilson, that was out, and he had him on IR. I said, 'you literally have the same thing on your team, on your bench.' I guess he was in two leagues and in one of them [Wilson] was on the IR and in one of them, he wasn't, so maybe that was a confusion. In the ESPN league we were in, it was listed as out. It feels very similar to what I did. That was basically all of it, there's not much more to it."

7. The Duke Posted: May 28, 2022 at 12:59 PM (#6078811)

I saw the interview and Joc looks like such a mild-mannered guy. It's, on the whole, very funny except that Pham seems to be a serial #######. He should be fighting for Bauer to return so that Bauer can keep the title of biggest jerk in MLB.

8. The Yankee Clapper Posted: May 28, 2022 at 01:54 PM (#6078812)

As I understand it, the NFL season has been over for many months, so either they are still squabbling about a long ago injured reserve move, or they are so desperate for ‘action’ that they are in a league for whatever they call the latest spring league. Sad

9. The Honorable Ardo Posted: May 28, 2022 at 02:05 PM (#6078815)

The Braves employ Will Smith, and he's having a rough season. Opponents beware!

10. The Duke Posted: May 28, 2022 at 02:19 PM (#6078817)

A). I believe it was a one-way argument
B). It does appear to be about last year
C). Pham says Joc dissed the Padres. Pham doesn't play for Padres

Imagine carrying around that much hate for that long

11. Posada Posse Posted: May 28, 2022 at 02:23 PM (#6078819)

Pham said there was “too much money on the line” and “he was messing with my money”. “I’m a big dog in Vegas. I’m a high roller at many casinos.”

This guy belongs in the madhouse!

12. sunday silence (again) Posted: May 28, 2022 at 03:27 PM (#6078828)

I actually find it somehow refreshing that guys can get this worked up over fantasy football.

Is anybody concerned that fantasy football leads to fantasy baseball?

13. JJ1986 Posted: May 28, 2022 at 03:54 PM (#6078834)

I believe the argument was about the 2020 season.

14. phredbird

Posted: May 28, 2022 at 03:57 PM (#6078836)

i'd slap joc pederson if i was on the reds too.

15. The Duke Posted: May 28, 2022 at 05:05 PM (#6078866)

Video of incident is now out

16. The Duke Posted: May 28, 2022 at 05:07 PM (#6078868)

Can we get a boxing promoter to to put an Evander Kane / Tommy Pham cage match together in Vegas?

17. Walt Davis Posted: May 28, 2022 at 06:30 PM (#6078884)

i'd slap joc pederson if i was on the reds too.

I'd slap my agent if I was on the Reds.

18. Starring Bradley Scotchman as RMc Posted: May 28, 2022 at 06:37 PM (#6078885)

This rich guy-on-rich guy slapping has to stop!

19. Pasta-diving Jeter (jmac66) Posted: May 28, 2022 at 07:18 PM (#6078888)

Pham suspended 3 games

20. Pat Rapper's Delight (as quoted on MLB Network) Posted: May 28, 2022 at 07:19 PM (#6078890)

“I’m a big dog in Vegas. I’m a high roller at many casinos.”

HINT: If you have to tell people you're a big deal in Vegas, you're not a big deal in Vegas.

21. The Yankee Clapper Posted: May 28, 2022 at 07:29 PM (#6078894)

Give him a Durocher-style suspension for associating with known gamblers. Manfred, too.

22. depletion Posted: May 28, 2022 at 07:40 PM (#6078896)

#20. How true.
Art Schlichter called, he wants his addiction back.

23. The Duke Posted: May 28, 2022 at 10:14 PM (#6078902)

Joc gives press the offending "gif". It's a whole lotta nothing. Pham is seriously screwed up.

24. Tin Angel Posted: May 28, 2022 at 11:56 PM (#6078912)

“I’m a big dog in Vegas. I’m a high roller at many casinos.”

I wonder how many people recognize MLB player Tommy Pham when he struts into a Las Vegas casino. I'm going to guess somewhere around zero.

25. Roger Cedeno's Spleen Posted: May 29, 2022 at 01:10 AM (#6078914)

So back in 2016, 2017 and 2018 a bunch of other major leaguers knew that the Astros, Red Sox, Yankees (and who knows how many other teams) were cheating at actual baseball and everyone stayed cool. The moment somebody gets caught cheating at... fantasy football it's suddenly pistols at dawn time. What the actual ####?

26. Pat Rapper's Delight (as quoted on MLB Network) Posted: May 29, 2022 at 02:14 AM (#6078917)

i'd slap joc pederson if i was on the reds too.

Pederson should be slapped for that hair if nothing else.

27. Tom Goes to the Ballpark Posted: May 29, 2022 at 09:23 AM (#6078923)

Joc Pederson was waiting for us after the game, with receipts from his group text exchange with Tommy Pham. He sent a GIF of three weightlifters with Giants, Dodgers and Padres logos superimposed on them. The Padres guy collapsed under the weight of his dumbbell.

Pederson read, verbatim, from the group chat, which included 4-5 other Padres.

Pham responded, "Joc I don't know you well enough to make any jokes like this."

Pederson wrote back, "It was meant to be all fun and games. No hard feelings. Sorry if you took it that way."

That was around last September. A few weeks later, Pham dropped out the league. Pederson confirmed "there was a lot of money involved in it."

About seven months later, Pham slapped Pederson across the face.

28. Joyful Calculus Instructor Posted: May 29, 2022 at 10:29 AM (#6078924)

[25] How did Joc cheat? It sounds like the settings of the league were that if a player were ruled out, they could be stashed on the IR and a new player could be added without dropping anyone.

29. What did Billy Ripken have against ElRoy Face? Posted: May 29, 2022 at 11:01 AM (#6078926)

Today I learned two things: Tommy Pham is not good at grammar, and Joc Pederson is not good at apologizing.

30. The Duke Posted: May 29, 2022 at 11:01 AM (#6078927)

MLB must not have had all the info before the suspension. It looks like he just walked up and whacked him. If nothing else, they should have demanded he see a psychiatrist.

My guess is that this will be Tommy's last contract in MLB. He's had issues everywhere with his attitude and now he's exhibiting a violent personality. It will only get worse. I believe he's already challenged Voit to a fight this year. I'm predicting a hard slide resulting in some in-game bro-ha-ha.

31. The Mighty Quintana Posted: May 29, 2022 at 12:34 PM (#6078939)

Yeah, these online leagues (yahoo, CBS, ESPN) are pretty bullet-proof in terms of chicanery. Once the Commish sets up the league configuration, all the rules are out in the open and if people want to "stretch the intent" of certain rules, well, have at it...but as with anything, money changes everything.

32. Misirlou cut his hair and moved to Rome Posted: May 29, 2022 at 04:58 PM (#6078984)

HINT: If you have to tell people you're a big deal in Vegas, you're not a big deal in Vegas.

Pham has made about $28 million in his MLB career. That's a lot of money to you and me. It's a pittance among known Vegas high rollers.

33. jacksone (AKA It's OK...) Posted: May 29, 2022 at 09:47 PM (#6079009)

and Joc Pederson is not good at apologizing.

??

How was Pederson supposed to apologize? He was familiar with other Padres players in the fantasy league - some of them were former teammates, it's not like Joc was pulling a Josh Donaldson, trying to rag on someone he didn't know at all.

34. What did Billy Ripken have against ElRoy Face? Posted: May 29, 2022 at 11:49 PM (#6079040)

How was Pederson supposed to apologize?

”Sorry if you took it that way” is never an actual apology. But I was just being flippant, not criticizing him for real - I could not possibly care less about this entire dumb thing.

35. Never Give an Inge (Dave) Posted: May 30, 2022 at 06:13 AM (#6079053)

I would also like to know what was wrong with Pham’s grammar, other than perhaps a missing comma?

Job’s apology was completely appropriate.

Pham’s high roller comment sounds like something Ron Burgundy would say. “I have many leather-bound volumes and I am a high roller at many casinos….”

36. McCoy Posted: May 30, 2022 at 09:00 AM (#6079055)

I'm a big deal in Vegas too. At least that's what everybody says when I announce myself inside of a casino.

37. What did Billy Ripken have against ElRoy Face? Posted: May 30, 2022 at 10:43 AM (#6079058)

I would also like to know what was wrong with Pham’s grammar, other than perhaps a missing comma?

Pham responded, "Joc I don't know you well enough to make any jokes like this."

Shouldn’t it be “for you to make any jokes like this”? The way he phrased it implies that he, Pham, was the one making the joke rather than Pederson. Am I misreading?

38. Mr. Hotfoot Jackson (gef, talking mongoose) Posted: May 30, 2022 at 10:51 AM (#6079060)

Nope. That's what he said, unintelligently enough.

39. McCoy Posted: May 30, 2022 at 11:22 AM (#6079061)

I don't think you have to be kissing cousins or something like that to make fun one's team one is on while in a fantasy league.

40. Never Give an Inge (Dave) Posted: May 30, 2022 at 11:25 AM (#6079062)

Maybe he meant that he wouldn’t respond in kind because he didn’t know Joc well enough. That’s how I read it because that’s what the sentence as constructed would mean. I agree now, after reading your comment, that he probably meant it as you read it, and therefore the grammar was wrong.

41. What did Billy Ripken have against ElRoy Face? Posted: May 30, 2022 at 11:43 AM (#6079063)

Maybe he meant that he wouldn’t respond in kind because he didn’t know Joc well enough.

Could be, I suppose.

42. depletion Posted: May 30, 2022 at 02:33 PM (#6079070)

If I slapped a co-contractor over a gambling issue while in the workplace, I would be handed a cardboard box and a last check. I understand a fight after a hard slide or an HBP, but this is totally unrelated to the competitive game on the field.

43. Barry`s_Lazy_Boy Posted: May 30, 2022 at 03:34 PM (#6079071)

I actually watched a 3 minute video where Joc explained exactly what happened.

He had a guy listed OUT who he moved to IR. Tommy complained that you can't put an OUT guy on IR. Joc looked at Tommy's roster, saw that Tommy had an OUT guy on IR, and brought it up in the texts.

That is when Tommy got mad. Then Tommy quit. Then he didn't communicate in any form to Joc for 7 months. He walked right up to him on the field before the game, said one quick word and ###### slapped him.

This is all on Tommy.

And this is hilariously petty like every fantasy argument ever.

Celebrities! They're just like us!

44. Pat Rapper's Delight (as quoted on MLB Network) Posted: May 30, 2022 at 04:02 PM (#6079075)

If I slapped a co-contractor over a gambling issue while in the workplace,

DraftKings has entered the chat
DraftKings: Dude, fantasy sports are totally <open-mouthed wink> not gambling.

45. McCoy Posted: May 30, 2022 at 04:16 PM (#6079077)

I'm guessing Tommy is one of those guys that thinks one cannot impugn his honor without repercussions.

46. Russ Posted: May 31, 2022 at 11:02 AM (#6079184)

I'm guessing Tommy is one of those guys that thinks one cannot impugn his honor without repercussions.

By some of the reports I've seen, Pham has had a tough upbringing and probably has had to fight harder than most to get to where he has been. I say that not to excuse his behaviour, but rather to say that this kind of behaviour reflects something that is not just a lack of humility or complicated feelings about honour. He grew up in Vegas, the household he was in was not always stable and he has probably had bad gambling influences around him his whole life. He needs some real help to work through his issues, it's not just about pride.

47. Cris E Posted: May 31, 2022 at 05:25 PM (#6079236)

If I'm in a fantasy league it's expected that a certain amount of good natured trash talking is part of the weekly agenda. Hard Knocks Tommy might see things differently, but if the trigger was a little clip art then he's way out of line, especially if the others all got the joke. An adult should be able to discern the difference between a light hearted image and a directly stated "Listen you little #@%*@&..." This was not that, and Peterson was being pretty diplomatic by apologizing as much as he did.

Tommy Pham has some stuff to work through, and he does not appear to be engaging in that process yet. Time to grow up, young man.

48. Posada Posse Posted: May 31, 2022 at 09:31 PM (#6079284)

The fantasy football commissioner for Pham’s league apparently was some guy named Trout who also was criticized by Pham.

49. Cris E Posted: June 01, 2022 at 12:40 PM (#6079352)

Commissioner is always a thankless job. Maybe the guys could slide him a couple bucks for the extra effort, maybe offset some of the entry fees.

50. Red Menace Posted: June 01, 2022 at 01:05 PM (#6079356)

Commissioner is always a thankless job.

No kidding. From the article in 48:

I don't want to be the commissioner; I've got other (stuff) to do. (Trout) didn't want to do it. We put it on him

I don't want to do this thankless job, but I'll put it on you then criticize your performance. Maybe we should make Trout be a school board member or county commissioned while we're at it.

51. What did Billy Ripken have against ElRoy Face? Posted: June 01, 2022 at 01:23 PM (#6079358)

Between Pham, Pederson and reported other league members Machado, Hosmer and Moustakas, the level of douche-bro-ness in that league seems rather high.

52. Zach Posted: June 01, 2022 at 07:43 PM (#6079432)

If regular fantasy football isn't quite nerdy enough for you, the German football league season is just starting...

Actually, a fun experience. The beer is literally cheaper than the water, and judging by number of participants / percentage of the crowd, the football teams are an economic auxiliary to the cheerleading squad.

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Saturday, May 28, 2022

Report: Reds OF Tommy Pham slapped Giants’ Joc Pederson over fantasy football disagreement

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