In a story that sounds straight out of The League, two Major League Baseball players got into a pregame altercation on Friday night, and it’s reportedly over a disagreement from a fantasy football league.
Cincinnati Reds outfielder Tommy Pham and (red-hot) San Francisco Giants outfielder Joc Pederson got into a pregame kerfuffle during batting practice that reportedly featured Pham slapping Pederson across the face.
This is all I could see. pic.twitter.com/wUPN4VSvjt
— Mark Sheldon (@m_sheldon) May 27, 2022
According to Andrew Baggarly (Giants beat) and C. Trent Rosecrans (Reds beat) of The Athletic, the drama between Pham and Pederson “stems from a disagreement the two had in a fantasy football league including players from several teams.”
Rosecrans referred to the slap as “Will Smith-style.”
Our headline has been updated with more details: Sources confirm Tommy Pham slapped Joc Pederson across the face after confronting him about a disagreement stemming from their fantasy football league. https://t.co/xMUMAuc2n9
— Andrew Baggarly (@extrabaggs) May 28, 2022
Tommy Pham slapped Joc Pederson "Will Smith-style" during Reds batting practice on Friday, according to multiple sources. The Reds scratched Pham shortly before the game started at 8:48 after a rain delay https://t.co/sxHqurxcYi
— C. Trent Rosecrans (@ctrent) May 28, 2022
According to multiple sources, the beef stems from a disagreement the two had in a fantasy football league including players from several teams.
Pham was scratched from the Reds’ lineup due to MLB investigating the incident. Pederson remained in the Giants’ lineup.
Tommy Pham is out of the lineup because MLB is investigating the pregame incident. Pham agreed not to play tonight pending the result of MLB's investigation.
— Bobby Nightengale (@nightengalejr) May 28, 2022
Giants manager Gabe Kapler told the media pregame, “We’re investigating it and learning as much as we can about the incident. We don’t have much more than that for you right now. I sense that we’ll have a clear understanding after the game.”
It’s been a bizarre few years for Pham, who was stabbed outside of a San Diego strip club in 2020. Pham and Pederson — who have never played on the same team — were division rivals that season, with Pham on the San Diego Padres and Pederson on the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Update: Joc Pederson went into detail about the incident and the fantasy football league disagreement.
