Just what we needed: Another wrinkle in the Joc Pederson-Tommy Pham fantasy football drama from a month ago. No, I am not kidding whatsoever.
Pederson’s former Atlanta Braves teammates – pitchers Tyler Matzek and Josh Tomlin – joined The Chris Rose Rotation this week. They shared their perspective of the long-running feud, which stemmed from a questionable fantasy football move and was ignited with memes sent over a group text.
Matzek and Tomlin shared that Pham had aired his threat a while back, and “everybody” in the Atlanta clubhouse last season knew about the fantasy football league.
So, when Pederson and the Braves would play the Pham in the Padres near the end of the 2021 campaign, Pederson took his batting practice swings inside for the entire series so he would not run into Pham before the game.
“When we went to San Diego that end of the year, he literally did not leave the clubhouse,” Matzek explained. “Joc did not leave the clubhouse because he knew Pham was out there. He wanted to slap him and beat him up.”
Neither Matzek nor Tomlin were in the fantasy football league, but Pederson shared with them what was going on. So, when Pham actually slapped Pederson “Will Smith-style” on May 27 of this year, they were both surprised and unsurprised.
“I knew it was gonna happen, I saw the text message,” Tomlin said. “What a grudge to hold. I mean that’s a year in the making and he just walked up to him and bitch slapped him.”
Joc Pederson Gets Last Laugh – Kind Of
The Braves went on to win the 2021 World Series and Joc Pederson’s pearls were featured prominently on the rings given out to the winners. That had to fuel more of Pham’s fire, as well.
For that week in late May and early June, this fantasy football league consisting of MLB players captivated the nation. Superstar outfielder Mike Trout was the commissioner, the league’s buy-in was $10,000 and everybody was fired up.
While Pham was suspended three games for the slap, Pederson might be on his way to his first All-Star Game since 2015. So who is the real winner here? Well, really, we all are.
