Tommy Pham Gives Reasons for Joc Pederson Slap: ‘Too Much Money on the Line’

This story continues to unfold.

We’ve already told you that Reds OF Tommy Pham slapped Giants OF Joc Pederson before their two teams faced off on Friday night because of a Fantasy Football dispute. We told you that MLB has already stepped in to investigate.

Joc Pederson has also already given his version of events. Now, it’s Tommy’s turn. According to Giants beat reporter Evan Webeck, Pham has confirmed that he slapped Pederson and he gave explicit reasons why.

“He said some sh– I don’t condone. I had to address it.”

Tommy Pham says he has been suspended for 3 games. “I slapped Joc. He said some shit I don’t condone. I had to address it.”

Pham says Joc made “disrespectful” comments about his former team, the Padres, in the league’s group chat.

— Evan Webeck (@EvanWebeck) May 28, 2022

That wasn’t all he said:

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.” https://t.co/atfAOnj6Th

— Evan Webeck (@EvanWebeck) May 28, 2022

Now we come to the real root of the story here: money. Though Pederson insisted that there was just a misunderstanding about a particular player’s eligibility in their Fantasy Football league last year, that misunderstanding must’ve cost Pham some serious cash. And Pham couldn’t or wouldn’t let it go.

“I had to address it,” Pham claimed.

I get it. I narrowly lost the OutKick Fantasy Football league this year to Sam Amico, and I’m fairly certain still I owe him a Thursday Night Mowing League t-shirt as a result. So I know what it is to have a lot on the line.

But Pham needs to keep a cooler head about these things. He says he’s already been suspended for three games, and that may not be the only consequence. My guess is that Pham’s Fantasy Football invite will get lost somewhere in the ether this fall.