Dodgers: Joc Pederson at Center of National Controversy
Joc Pederson broke an unwritten rule. No, not an unwritten rule in baseball, an unwritten rule of fantasy football. The longtime Dodger was in a league this past football season that was loaded with MLB players, including Tommy Pham.
On Friday, Pham, whose Reds were hosting Joc's Giants, slapped Pederson during warmups on Friday for Pederson's fantasy football "transgression".
After the incident, Pederson explained that he had placed a player on his team who was temporarily out for the week due to injury on the IL in order to add a free agent, rather than moving the injured player to the bench which would preclude him from picking up a player.
Pham took exception to Pederson's maneuver based on etiquette and the fact that there was "a lot of money involved" according to Joc.
Joc also admitted that he sent the league's group text a GIF poking fun at Pham's Padres who collapsed in the second half of the 2021 season. Pederson's handling of his roster and his chiding of the Padres led to Pham confronting him on Friday. According to ESPN, the two had to be separated.
On Saturday, MLB handed Pham a three-game suspension and a fine for "inappropriate conduct". The outfielder explained his side of the story.
"... It was regarding my former team [Padres]. I didn't like that and I didn't like the sketchy s--- going on in the fantasy. We had too much money on the line, so I look at it like there's a code. You're f---ing with my money, then you're going to say some disrespectful s---; there's a code to this."
Reds manager David Bell discussed the events with Pham, but declined to elaborate on their conversation.
Honestly, it sounds like it all could have been avoided if the commissioner of the league had managed the league injury settings correctly.
