The plot thickens in the latest fantasy football drama between Tommy Pham and Joc Pederson, as three-time AL MVP Mike Trout was implicated as the “worst commissioner in fantasy sports.”
Jayne Kamin-Oncea/USA TODAY Sports
If you need to catch up, Tommy Pham received a three-game suspension for slapping Joc Pederson during batting practice last Thursday. Apparently, the slap was due to a fantasy football dispute involving the questionable placement of 49ers running back Jeff Wilson Jr. on the IR in order for Pederson to make a waiver pick up. Pederson has claimed what he did was legal according to the league rules, and even had sent a screenshot in the group text to prove it. He also accused Pham of doing the same thing with another team.
When asked about the feud on Wednesday, the unwitting fantasy player at the center of the spat, Wilson, gave a shout-out to Pederson for having him on the team and for “taking one for the team.”
Trout has failed to comment on whether there was any wrongdoing in regards to Pederson’s IR use.
With new details revealing the $10,000 buy-in and an extra $10,000 charge to the player that finishes in last-place, it’s easy to see why this could get heated. After all, according to Trout, “everybody loves fantasy football. Who doesn’t?”
Sometimes, love hurts.
Pham also claims Pederson made some jokes about how poorly the Padres (Pham’s team in 2021) were playing at the end of the season and said there was plenty of guilt to go around–not for the slap, but for the fact the guys “made” Trout the commissioner. Apparently, if Trout had enforced the rules, the slap could have been prevented.
(Side note: I tried that blame game once with my parents, but I still got in trouble for hitting my brother.)
What’s clear here is that the only one who is good at taking the trash-talk is Trout, who laughed it off and blamed the media for dragging it out (umm … Pham begs to differ).
Trout says he himself did not win the fantasy football league, and also that he is unsure whether he will return next year as commish. He followed up with a great truth: “every commissioner I know gets booed.”
Trout sees you, Rob Manfred.
The Angels outfielder has been in the news a lot this week, first for bat-flipping his son, and now for his fantasy football commissioner skills. Though he may not ever win MVC (most valuable commissioner), he’s hitting .302 with 13 home runs, and he’s +400 to win the AL MVP, behind only Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge. That stellar line has been obscured by the drama surrounding this fantasy football league. I guess it’s true, everyone loves fantasy football.
After all of this, there is still one burning question that remains unanswered, though: In this high-stakes, high-drama league, who the heck finished last?!
