Sometimes, after a physical altercation, the combatants look back with remorse over tensions running high.
This is not one of those instances.
Tommy Pham, now with the Red Sox, made it perfectly clear during a recent conversation with The Boston Globe’s Julian McWilliams that he still doesn’t regret smacking San Francisco Giants outfielder Joc Pederson before a game back in May.
The infamous slap stemmed from a fantasy football dispute — specifically, over the use of injured reserve in a league the two played in together last season — and Pham disagreeing with the way Pederson conducted himself in a group chat.
“Regarding the Joc situation, I don’t feel sorry for what I did,” Pham told McWilliams. “There’s a certain level of respect that was crossed. Joc was disrespectful and I don’t condone, you know, the way he was talking to me in the group chat through the text. I don’t condone that.”
Major League Baseball suspended Pham for three games following the incident, citing “inappropriate conduct,” and he did little to hide his displeasure with Pederson amid the fallout. Pham explained there was “too much money on the line” and that Pederson said “some disrespectful (crap).” Pederson acknowledged he sent a GIF last season poking fun at the San Diego Padres — Pham’s former team — for their on-field struggles.
Clearly, the whole exchange didn’t sit well with Pham — and still doesn’t.
“If anything, he’s lucky I didn’t hurt his ass even worse,” Pham told McWilliams.
