Tommy Pham, Joc Pederson Face-Off Friday Night For First Time Since Slap

Nearly a month after Cincinnati Reds outfielder Tommy Pham slapped San Francisco Giants outfielder Joc Pederson over a fantasy football league disagreement, the two major leaguers will face off for the first since the incident. 

The Giants and Reds will play the first game of a three-game series in San Francisco Friday night, and Pederson hopes that Giants fans will “keep it respectful” when greeting Pham. 

“I think our fans are classy and respectful,” Pederson said, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. “There’s a respect level that needs to be held up, and when you see games in New York or wherever they were, where they start throwing stuff on the field, that is not OK and doesn’t help any situation. It makes it so much worse. So just keep it respectful.”

Pham was seen slapping Pederson in the outfield during batting practice prior to a May game between the Reds and the Giants, resulting in a three-game suspension for Pham. 

Pham claimed that Pederson made “disrespectful” comments via text message, causing Pham to slap Pederson. 

"There was some s--- that went on in fantasy, but what he forgot to tell you guys too, you know, he said some disrespectful s--- in a text message and I called him out on it. It was regarding my former team," Pham said, via The Cincinnati Enquirer.

Pederson told reporters this week that he does not expect his Giants’ teammates to seek any retribution. 

“I don’t really believe there’s a reason to take issue like that, the old school way, like, ‘Oh, you’re going to hit somebody,’ or throw at them,” Pederson said. “If you put somebody on base, you’re in a bad situation.”

The Giants are currently 38-21, 5.5 games out of first place in the NL West.