Getty Image
Tommy Pham is back in the headlines due to a beef with a fan at a recent Diamondbacks game. The Arizona outfielder was filmed arguing with someone in the front row while he took a few warmup cuts in the on-deck circle.
After seeing the video clip go viral on social media, Pham put the fan on blast again following the game’s end.
During Saturday’s game between Arizona and NL West rival San Diego, Pham mixed it up with a few onlookers sitting near the Diamondbacks’ dugout. He claims that one bystander called him a “piece of s—,” though the folks in the stands deny it.
Tommy Pham has some severe anger management issues. He was just waiting to go off on someone. This vid is from my wife after he started losing his shit. I’m not there today. Brian is the guy who sits directly in front of us.
In the 3 season we have had our tickets, he has never… pic.twitter.com/pVtWkQ1C7k
— Patrick Dailey (@PatrickDailey) August 19, 2023
“Go strike out,” the fan responded to Pham’s accusation.
After the game, the outfielder saw the video of the interaction and offered his side of the story.
“Since this guy wants to block me and act like his friend is a model citizen, I’ll put 100k up if he passes a lie detector test saying he didn’t call me a piece of s—,” Pham wrote. “If he doesn’t pass, which he won’t, the MLB bans him for life from all stadiums.”
Pham also hinted at some racial motivation behind the criticism, which he doubled down on in his postgame interview.
Tommy Pham on his altercation with a fan in the first inning:
“Fans here, man, I just don’t get it … Older white gentleman called me a piece of shit. I don’t think that’s acceptable, especially when you’re so close to the on-deck circle.” pic.twitter.com/zGY9SY2Fe1
— PHNX Diamondbacks (@PHNX_Dbacks) August 19, 2023
It apparently wasn’t his first verbal attack from San Diego fans as he also described an incident that occurred outside the team hotel during the road trip.
On top of his fan altercation in the first inning, Tommy Pham described another outside the team hotel:
“She was drunk. ‘F you, Tommy Pham, that’s why we got rid of you.’ I’m like, ‘Lady, I reached free agency. They didn’t get rid of me … In fact, they tried to re-sign me.'” pic.twitter.com/2Ip6akATfF
— Jesse Friedman (@JesseNFriedman) August 19, 2023
Pham, of course, used to play for the Padres. There seems to be no love lost between the two parties.
That criticism wasn’t limited to just Padres fans, though. After the incident, a former teammate even jumped in on the Pham bashing, calling the MLB player a “waste of a human being.”
Former teammate calls Tommy Pham out.
After seeing the viral incident between Pham and the Padres fans, former teammate and roommate Josh Wilson ripped the outfielder to shreds in an online post.
Tommy Pham’s MiLB roommate REALLY coming for him on Twitter… pic.twitter.com/wcM0Iuqy6h
— Neil Kucera (@NWKMF) August 20, 2023
“Pham is my former roommate in the minor leagues. He’s an absolute waste of a human being. Literally the worst person I’ve come across in my 36 years of life.”
Wilson isn’t the only baseball player with a beef.
Last season, Pham and Joc Pederson got into a pregame scuffle where Pham reportedly slapped Pederson across the face. The altercation apparently sparked from a fantasy football disagreement.
While controversy seems to follow Pham around, he didn’t let his most recent argument affect his play. In fact, it almost seemed like motivation.
He’d go on to triple later in the game before smacking a go-ahead home run in the fifth inning. Arizona would beat San Diego, 6-4.