NEW YORK — Mike Trout refused to allow himself to be dragged any further into the fantasy football dispute between Cincinnati Reds outfielder Tommy Pham and San Francisco Giants outfielder Joc Pederson, a controversy that included Pham slapping Pederson in the face last Friday and being suspended for three games.
Trout serves as commissioner of the league, which consists of major league players from several teams and reportedly requires a $10,000 buy-in.
Pham told the Athletic on Tuesday that Trout should shoulder some of the blame for the flap — er, slap — calling Trout “the worst commissioner in fantasy sports.” The Athletic noted that Pham’s comments came with a “hint of a smile.”
Trout was scheduled to address the media before Wednesday night’s game against the New York Yankees, and he had a hunch the Pham-Pederson question dispute would come up when he opened the session by saying, “Can we talk baseball here?”
Sure … but after a few baseball questions, Trout‘s reaction to Pham’s comments.
“I ain’t talking about fantasy football,” Trout said, before proceeding to talk about fantasy football. “I don’t even know … you know, it’s just one of those things. Everybody’s competitive. Just everybody loves fantasy football. Who doesn’t?”
Pham was reportedly angry that Pederson text-messaged some “disrespectful [stuff]” about the San Diego Padres, his former team, in a group chat. Pham also claimed Pederson broke some of the league’s rules.
Pham slapped Pederson during pregame warmups before a Reds-Giants game Friday, and he fanned the flames of the story by pulling Trout into it Tuesday.
Is Trout surprised the story has dragged on for almost a week?
“I think it’s you guys dragging it on,” Trout said. “I talked to Tommy. I talked to Joc. Everybody that was part of it … is very passionate about fantasy football. A lot of people put their hearts into it. I do, too. I lost that league.”
Trout was asked if, in light of the controversy, he should step down as the league’s commissioner.
“I haven’t made that decision,” he said. “I don’t know. Every commissioner I know always gets booed.”
Trout had a final thought on the topic: “It’s a legendary fantasy football league, for sure.”
And getting more legendary by the day.
