The Tommy Pham-Joc Pederson incident has taken a new turn. The two outfielders from the Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants respectively got into an interaction over a dispute over fantasy football, of all things, but new details are now emerging.
Ahead of the Reds' 5-1 win over the Giants in Cincinnati on Friday, Pederson explained that Pham got upset because he used the injured reserve for a player listed out. He was accused of cheating by stashing players but clarified that the rules allowed him to do so. Pham confronted Pederson and slapped him in the face.
BREAKING: 96.3/92.5 The Big Jab has obtained exclusive rights to a never before seen video of Tommy Pham slapping Joc Pederson (via Chad McCormack’s sources) #JocPederson #Pham #tommypham #Joc @MorningJab @MannixBrothers @ThePMJab pic.twitter.com/0oXBwDDRdH
— Chad McCormack☎️ (@mccormack_chad) May 28, 2022
Pham spoke out about the incident and made it clear that it was not just about a disagreement over fantasy football. The Reds outfielder claims that Pederson had some disrespectful words for the San Diego Padres, the team that Pham previously spent two seasons with. That text, in addition to the disagreement over the fantasy football rule, upset Pham.
Article Continues BelowTommy Pham says he won’t play until the Boston series. He said it goes back with Joc Pederson to something Pederson said in a group text about Pham’s former team. pic.twitter.com/zFoirRDIXO
— Charlie Goldsmith (@CharlieG__) May 28, 2022
Due to slapping Pederson in the brouhaha, Pham will be suspended for three games, which will cost him around $100,000 in missed salary. The Reds' offseason acquisition insisted that he had too much money involved with the fantasy league for Pederson to be messing around with it.
In his first season with the Reds, Pham is posting an OPS of .709 with 35 hits and five home runs in 42 days. Pederson, in his first season with the Giants, is enjoying a career year so far. He has an OPS of .934, which is a career-high, and 28 hits and 11 home runs in 36 games.