Cincinnati Reds goalie Tommy Pham was suspended for Major League Baseball for three games Saturday after slapping San Francisco Giants quarterback Joc Pederson over a dispute over his fantastic football league.
As the Giants warmed up on the field ahead of Friday’s opening of the series, the 34-year-old Pham faced Pederson and punched him in the face before the couple broke up.
Pham said Saturday that there were “outline” things with the fantastic league, and Pederson also made “disrespectful” comments about Pham’s former team, the San Diego Padres.
“We had too much money on the line, so I look at it as if there was a code,” Pham said. Pham also said Pederson “was playing with my money.”
Pederson acknowledged to reporters on Saturday that “there was a lot of money” and said Pham was telling the truth.
A sincere Pederson even showed reporters the gif he sent to the Padres players who were in the group chatting about their struggles on the field last season. Pederson was with the Atlanta Braves at the time, and Pham was playing in San Diego.
“There were some in the group chat, too – there were more than one parent, there were four or five, I’m a little close with a couple of them,” Pederson said. “It was supposed to be a friendly thing, just making fun of the fact that they were playing badly and talking back and forth. And yes, [Pham] He didn’t like it, and he replied, “Game, I don’t know you well enough to make jokes like this.”
Pederson read from his cell phone to reporters what he wrote. “It had to be all fun and games. No resentment. I’m sorry if you took it like that. And then about two weeks later, after week 4 or 5, he ended up leaving the league and since then there has been no communication, “Pederson said. “As I said, it’s true that I sent a gif joking about the parents and if I hurt someone’s feelings, I apologize for that.
“Because they were a very good team. So it was kind of a joke about how they weren’t playing well to get to the playoffs with a very talented team, “he said.” I mean, I was a teammate with some of them and I was supposed to be cheerful, and I understand that everyone takes the jokes differently. So, like I said, I apologize for that, and I’m looking forward to overcoming that and showing up tomorrow without distractions and trying to help this team win a game. “
Reds coach David Bell said he talked to Pham about what happened, but declined to share what he said.
Pederson said after Friday night’s game that he was accused of cheating to put a player in place to replace an injured player in the fantastic football league. Pederson said the player had been ruled out that week, making it a legal move. He said Pham had performed essentially the same maneuver with his own team.
“I sent a screenshot of the rules, as it says that if a player is discarded, you can put it in the [injured list] and that’s all he was doing, ”said Pederson. “He literally did the same thing. That was basically it.”
Pederson said he had no prior notice that Pham could face him during the series in Cincinnati. “There was no argument. He approached and said, ‘Do you remember last year?’ and I said, ‘Fantasy football?’ ”Pederson recalled.
“I just want to make sure we’re ready to play a game of baseball today,” Giants coach Gabe Kapler said Saturday before his team’s 3-2 loss to the Reds. “It simply came to our notice then. We can always talk about non-reactionaries. He was able to handle everything that happened. “
The fight was witnessed by reporters and took place before fans entered the stadium.