Pham will be unavailable for Monday’s game serving his suspension given after the April 25th incident
After appealing the one-game suspension MLB gave him for his gesture caught on camera in Anaheim a few weeks ago, Tommy Pham will serve it tonight as Paul Skenes and the Pirates face off against Juan Soto and the Mets in the Big Apple.
The incident in the Angels game on April 25th came after a fan made contact with Pham while fielding a ball down the left field line in the fifth inning. Pham was caught making this gesture toward the fan on the Angels broadcast, and then moments later, he was shown seemingly indicating that the fan should come onto the field to confront him.
Along with the suspension, Pham was given an undisclosed fine.
Whether or not Pham intended to fight this suspension is unclear, but he is facing the consequences now. It could possibly be due to the ankle injury he endured in Sunday’s game, and he could be using this as a needed day off. Or, his appeal on the suspension had already failed, and he must serve it now.
If Pham’s on the field production was even average, maybe he wouldn’t be as tarnished by locals for his non-baseball actions. But saying Pham has been awful thus far is an understatement. Although his defense in left field has been solid, Pham is hitting .176 with a .262 on-base percentage and a .475 OPS. For $4 million this investment by Ben Cherington continues to look worse and worse.