Joc Pederson thinks Tommy Pham's slap of his face was their first in-person interaction
Among the most interesting details from San Francisco Giants outfielder Joc Pederson's discussion with reporters about Cincinnati Reds outfielder Tommy Pham slapping him - in Pederson's words - before Friday's game at Great American Ball Park over a disagreement about stashing a player on IR in a fantasy football league: that Pederson said "it was over a year ago" and added that he didn't think he'd ever spoken previously to Pham in person.
On Saturday, Pham said he was suspended for three games. More from The Enquirer's Bobby Nightengale via Twitter:
Tommy Pham was suspended three games, he said. That includes last night, so he’ll miss the rest of the Giants series.
— Bobby Nightengale (@nightengalejr) May 28, 2022
From ESPN's Jeff Passan via Twitter:
Tommy Pham slapped Joc Pederson across the head and was suspended for three games because lingering resentment from a rule regarding IR designation in their fantasy football league spilled over into real life and led to Pham’s attack.
Baseball is not real. It’s a Mad Lib. pic.twitter.com/0a41Yi0DGD— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) May 28, 2022
Video of Pederson's Q&A with reporters from @NBCSGiants via Twitter, and additional video from @JohnSheaHey:
Joc shares details of what happened in his fantasy football league that started his altercation with Tommy Pham today pic.twitter.com/d9NBTwPVoG
— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) May 28, 2022
Joc Pederson explains the pregame incident with Tommy Pham pic.twitter.com/VfTBNOR8ru
— John Shea (@JohnSheaHey) May 28, 2022
It's possible Pederson meant last NFL season - meaning 2021 - when he said "over a year ago." If the debate over league rules in a group text that Pederson described didn't really happen "over a year ago," then it's possible Friday night during batting practice was the first opportunity Pham had to confront him.
But Pederson said he didn't ever remember chatting with Pham face-to-face before Friday - which is surprising. They must have at least come close to meeting.
In March 2020, both Pham and Pederson were among several MLB players on hand for a Pujols Family Foundation event at Topgolf in Scottsdale. Photos from each player's Instagram:
Pham only played in 31 games for the Padres in 2020, and Pederson only played in 43 games that season for Los Angeles. But they both played in all seven Dodgers-Padres games in August of that season, and the two teams also met in the NLDS that year.
In 2021, Pham and Pederson played in all six games in which the Padres faced the Cubs before Pederson was traded in July to the Atlanta Braves. Both played in five Braves-Padres games - three in July and two in September.
After Friday's incident, Pham agreed - per the Reds - not to play in the game, a 5-1 Reds win. Pederson was 1-for-3 with an RBI.
Pederson added - per a tweet from the San Francisco Chronicle's John Shea - that he doesn't expect to be in another fantasy league with Pham:
Spoke with Joc Pederson, who said Tommy Pham slapped him during pregame incident over issue involving fantasy football league. Said he doesn’t expect to be in another fantasy league with Pham again.
— John Shea (@JohnSheaHey) May 28, 2022
Many of Pham's tweets over the past couple of years involve fantasy football.
We don't know which league it was in, but Pham tweeted in January that receiver Davante Adams - Pederson's teammate at Palo Alto High School - carried "Team Phamly Tree" to a win in a fantasy championship game:
— Tommy Pham (@TphamLV) January 4, 2022
Pham tweeted one week earlier about his win against "TMT Machado":
Need them extra pts pic.twitter.com/5WQvWoHUVI
— Tommy Pham (@TphamLV) December 27, 2021
In Feburary, he pointed out that he won the championship with Jalen Hurts at QB:
Won the championship with him!
— Tommy Pham (@TphamLV) February 20, 2022
In April, Pham said a slide by the San Diego Padres' Luke Voit into Tyler Stephenson that concussed the Reds' catcher was "dirty as (expletive)" and suggested that he and Voit could settle their differences at a San Diego gym.
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This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Joc Pederson thinks Tommy Pham's slap was first in-person interaction