CINCINNATI — The slap heard around baseball really did originate from a fantasy football dispute.
At least according to the telling of Giants outfielder Joc Pederson, whose left cheek was the recipient of an open-handed slap from Reds outfielder Tommy Pham before Friday’s 5-1 loss. Pham sat out the game while MLB launched an investigation and didn’t address the incident after the game, while Pederson offered his account of the events.
A couple hours before first pitch, while the Reds were taking batting practice and a few Giants were warming up in left field, Pham approached Pederson and didn’t waste any time with introductions, according to Pederson, who described the incident as “an unfortunate situation” that stemmed from a mutual fantasy football league.
“There was no real argument,” Pederson said. “He kind of came up and said, you remember from last year? Fantasy football?”
Whack.
Pham’s hand slapped Pederson’s face.
Pederson, who is a proponent of mindfulness and meditation, said he “left the situation” after that.
“I didn’t get emotional. I don’t think violence is the answer,” Pederson said. “Some other players were out there, like when the benches clear but it was batting practice. There was nothing more to it. It was an unfortunate situation over a fantasy football league rule that wasn’t a rule.”
That rule?
Exactly which players are eligible to be placed on the injured reserve.
The move, for those of us who aren’t fantasy nerds, would allow a fantasy owner to add an extra player to their bench, opening a roster spot by placing a player on the IR. Such a transaction might sound familiar to Giants fans during the Farhan Zaidi era.
The player in question, according to Pederson: Jeff Wilson, the 49ers running back.
“There was a text message in the group saying that I was cheating because I was stashing players on my bench,” Pederson said. “I looked up the rules and sent a screenshot of the rules that says when a player is ruled out, you’re allowed to put him on the IR. That’s all I was doing.
“It just so happened that he had a player – Jeff Wilson – that was out, and he had him on IR. I said, you literally have the same thing on your team. … It feels very similar to what I did. That was basically all of it. There’s not much more to it.”
Pederson said the two had never spoken in person before the altercation Friday; their interactions had been limited to the aforementioned group chat.
Asked if believed Pham should be suspended for his actions, Pederson said, “I’m not going to get in to that.”
Giants manager Gabe Kapler declined to comment postgame, citing the ongoing MLB investigation.
Pham was in the Reds’ lineup up until moments before first pitch, slated to start in left field and bat third. But he was a late scratch, after Kapler and president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi contacted MLB. According to reports, they requested the Reds remove Pham from the lineup.
“We reported the incident to Major League Baseball,” Kapler said.
Added Pederson: “Gabe and Farhan did what they thought was best to best handle the situation.”
What followed was one of the sloppiest displays of baseball the Giants have shown in the Kapler era.
They managed just one run and made multiple miscues while facing a rookie starter and the team with the worst record in MLB.
“It was a weird interaction. Unfortunate. You show up here, and it’s hard to lock back in. It was a tough day,” Pederson said. “We’re scuffling a little bit, so that just makes things worse, and this is just an added distraction. You want to eliminate those as much as possible because this game’s so hard. Like I said, we lost.
“It feels like what happened was unfortunate, but it’s still a big distraction to other guys around here. We didn’t play a good game tonight. If I had something to do with that, being a distraction, that makes me feel really bad because I’m here to help this team win, not be a distraction.”
The important question: does Pederson envision sharing another fantasy league with Pham?
“I think I would pass, and I think he would pass as well,” Pederson said. “It’s over as far as I’m concerned. I don’t think I’ll speak to him. I don’t think he wants to speak to me.”
