White Sox outfielder Tommy Pham was thrown out at the plate in the eighth inning of Sunday’s loss to the Brewers, and he was extremely upset about it. From start to finish, Pham wasn’t happy with how things played out and he didn’t hold back when describing the play to the media.
Pham’s rancor began with third base coach Eddie Rodriguez’s decision to send him home in the first place.
“It wasn’t even f–g close,” Pham said after the game. “It was a shallow fly ball to left field, you would expect the left fielder to throw out the base runner on that play. But the situation of the game, if the third-base coach sends you, you gotta go. I’m nailed out at home by a mile.”
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After the play, Pham and Brewers catcher William Contreras barked at each from a distance.
“I’m going to the dugout and then I hear the tough guy with all the hoorah s—,” Pham said. “I’ll never start anything, but I’ll be prepared to finish it. There’s a reason why I do all kinds of fighting in the offseason, because I’m prepared to f— somebody up. So you can take that as what it is.”
It never appeared like the pair came close to a real fight, but those are certainly fighting words from Pham.
MLB
White Sox manager Pedro Grifol defended Rodriguez’s decision to send Pham home on the play. The White Sox were down 4-3 at the time, and the fly ball out paired with the play at the plate ended the inning.
“We’re just being aggressive,” Grifol said. “The fly ball just didn’t get deep enough, and (Christian) Yelich made a nice throw. I don’t mind the aggressiveness.”
Grifol said he did not see the incident at the plate that led to the Pham and Contreras shouting match.
According to The Associated Press, Contreras had a different perspective on the play.
“I really wasn't paying attention to what he had to say," Contreras said through an interpreter. “I didn't know what he was saying in my direction.”