Diamondbacks Tommy Pham slams former Mets teammates: "Least-hardest working group of position players I've ever played with"
On the August 1 MLB trade deadline, outfielder Tommy Pham was one of the players dealt by the New York Mets to a new team, moving to the Arizona D-Backs. The historic offloading punctuated one of the most dissapointing seasons in MLB history.
Although Pham was an important part of the Mets, he was far from the most high-profile name that the team shipped off at the deadline. Both Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander, who shared the record for the highet-paid MLB players ever, found new homes in the run-up to August 1.
Despite having a payroll of around $360 million, the Mets came up by every metric in 2023. Now with a record of 71-81, MLB's richest team is nowhere close to playoff contention, despite having won 100 games last season.
While many pundits have theorized on why the New York Mets were so awful this year, Tommy Pham has his own notions. According to the 35-year old, his teammates on the Mets were among the laziest players he had ever seen on a baseball field.
"Tommy Pham called out his Mets teammates for being the "least-hardest working group of position players I've ever played with" He added that he had a lot of respect for the work ethics of Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso, and Brandon Nimmo" - SNY
While Pham did qualify his statements by commending the work ethics of former teammates Brandon Nimmo, Francisco Lindor, and Pete Alonso, his comments are no less scathing.
At the time of his trade, Pham was hitting .268/.348/.472 with 10 home runs and 36 RBIs. Regarded as a hard-nosed and dedicated workhorse, Pham was never been named to an All-Star game, despite having demonstrated a high level of consistency across his career, in which he owns a .260 average.
"THANKS PHAM! TOMMY PHAM TIES THIS BALLGAME UP WITH A 2-RUN HOME RUN!" - SNY
Tommy Pham has a chance to make the most out of his 2023 season
Never one to shy away from controversy, Tommy Pham was suspended last season after punching San Francisco Giants player Joc Pederson in a pre-game warmup. According to reports, Pham slugged Pederson on account of a disagreement over fantasy football.
Now with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Pham and company sit in the NL's second Wild Card spot, and appear to be playoff bound. If the surging D-Backs can attain some level of postseason success, then Pham's comments will be vindicated.