Perrotto: Tommy Pham Was Right but He Wasn’t

Tommy Pham had every right to be angry.

A fan should never touch a player during a Major League Baseball game. Yet that happened to Pham on Wednesday night when the Pittsburgh Pirates left fielder chased a double by the Los Angeles Angels’ Travis d’Arnaud into the left-field corner during a game at Angel Stadium in Anaheim.

Pham was not injured during the play, and it all seemed harmless. However, the fan crossed a line.

MLB policy gives stadium security the leeway to eject the fan. However, the Angels reseated the fan, leading to more trouble.

Pham later made an obscene gesture toward the fan, who he claimed was harassing him from the stands. It wasn’t as obvious as flipping the bird, but it was inappropriate.

Pham’s anger was understandable. First, he was touched by the fan, then jeered.

I’d be mad, too.

However, Pham’s response was wrong, and MLB suspended him for one game on Friday. Pham filed an appeal and played in Friday night’s 3-0 victory over the Dodgers in Los Angeles.

Pham’s gesture was not so egregious as to warrant a suspension, at least in my mind. However, he deserved punishment, and the $10,000 levied by the league seems right.

Pham has had a solid major-league career, but has long been his own worst enemy. That was the case again on Wednesday. Anger and frustration aside, Pham has been in the game too long to know not to react to the fan.

This is Pham’s 12th season in the big leagues, and it should be obvious by now that a player isn’t going to win a verbal battle with a fan. Like they say in retail sales, the customer is always right.

Pham also knows that cameras are everywhere these days and that his obscene gesture would be captured by either a professional or amateur photographer.

Surely, Pham realizes he has built a reputation during his dozen years in MLB.

Pham was once stabbed outside a strip club. He slapped an opposing player because of a fantasy football rules dispute during batting practice. Pham has had multiple run-ins with umpires and opposing players during games.

Therefore, MLB was not going to let him off easily this time.

General manager Ben Cherington said the Pirates valued Pham’s leadership when they signed the 37-year-old to a one-year, $4,025,000 contract as a free agent on Feb. 16. Manager Derek Shelton hoped Pham could provide a spark on the field.

The Pirates are Pham’s 10th team in the last eight seasons.

He continued to find work because he is good enough to pique a team’s interest. Yet, the off-field problems and incidents like the one that occurred on Wednesday night are why Pham bounces from team to team.

Pham is hitting .175 with no home runs through 24 games this season. Obscene gestures are more tolerable from someone hitting above the Mendoza Line.