Major League Baseball suspended Cincinnati Reds outfielder Tommy Pham for three games Saturday after he slapped San Francisco Giants player Joc Pederson on Friday over a dispute stemming from a fantasy football league they competed in over a year ago.
Cincinnati Reds center fielder Tommy Pham waits for the pitch during a regular season game. Brandon Sloter of Icon Sportswire poses for a picture.
The MLB said in a statement that Pham was suspended for inappropriate conduct and fined an undisclosed amount.
The suspension was retroactive to Friday, when Pham agreed to sit out the game, and goes until Sunday.
He told reporters that he would accept the suspension and fine, but he felt that Pederson had taken his money and had to address it.
Pederson said that the slap was a surprise and that there was no argument after the slap.
Pederson said that before the slap, Pham said, "You remember from last year?" and I said, "Fantasy football?"
Pederson told reporters that he replaced a player on injured reserve with a free agent last year. Someone in the fantasy football group accused Pederson of cheating, but Pederson said he looked up the rules that said when a player is out, you can put them on the injured reserve list. Pederson said he told the player on injured reserve that he had the same thing on his team.
The Reds had a player suspended for 3 games for hitting Pederson.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
