If you thought one of baseball’s greatest storylines this season was finally in the rearview mirror, you’d be sadly mistaken.
We’re not talking about Aaron Judge’s record 62nd homer, but rather the fantasy football feud between Tommy Pham and Joc Pederson that boiled over onto the field. For some who need a reminder, Pham received a three-game suspension earlier this year with the Reds after reportedly slapping the Giants outfielder after a disagreement with Pederson over the fantasy football league they were a part of last season. Pham claimed Pederson was “messing with my money,” and Pederson pulled out the receipts in response.
Now, five months later, Pham said he took it easy on Pederson in an interview with The Boston Globe. The now-Red Sox outfielder said, “If anything, he’s lucky I didn’t hurt his a-- even worse.”
Pham didn’t show any remorse when recounting the incident with the Globe, stating, “Regarding the Joc situation, I don’t feel sorry for what I did. There’s a certain level of respect that was crossed. Joc was disrespectful and I don’t condone, you know, the way he was talking to me in the group chat through the text. I don’t condone that.”
The feud between the two extended beyond the fantasy football league. Some texts from Pederson also trash-talked the Padres, who Pham played for at the time of the exchanges. Back in May, Pederson showed reporters a message of a GIF. It featured three weightlifters with Giants, Dodgers and Padres logos superimposed over them, and it showed the Padres individual collapsing under the weight of his dumbbell.
