3 reasons to appreciate Chicago White Sox outfielder Tommy Pham
By Todd Welter
Chicago White Sox outfielder Tommy Pham caused a stir during yesterday's defeat to the Milwaukee Brewers. It also indirectly caused television play-by-play announcer John Schriffen to have a cringeworthy moment.
Getting into a shouting match with William Contreras during the eighth inning might not have been the best time to get upset, but it is one of things that makes Pham so fun to watch.
The Sox will be less entertaining when he is traded before the deadline. Make no mistake about it, Pham will not finish the season with the White Sox.
That is one of three reasons to appreciate Pham. He should yield a promising prospect that the White Sox can use toward the next competitive team. Pham got the New York Mets prospect Jeremy Rodriguez. The shortstop out of the Dominican Republic is still 17 with a ton of upside. The problem might be that the Sox front office might not want to with a prospect so young despite the tremendous upside according to SoxMachine.com's team beat writer James Fegan.
The #Sox have lost 11-straight and Tommy Pham wants to hit somebody. @JRFegan now joins @BernsyHolmes w/@dan_bernstein & @LaurenceWHolmes to help make sense of everything.
— Bernstein & Holmes Show (@BernsyHolmes) June 3, 2024
🎧 https://t.co/rdRIBS3DMJ
💻 https://t.co/2CwoqbmxkY pic.twitter.com/SprqxPcTQK
However, it would be nice if Pham snapped out of his recent slump, so his trade value does not diminish. Tommy has a slash line of .185/.254/.259 over the past 15 days. He has a .095 average and a .269 OPS over the past seven days.
Speaking his mind, especially when it comes to a bad send by the coaching staff is another reason to love Pham.
Here was Tommy Pham with emphasis postgame: "One run ballgame. Close play at the plate. Actually, it wasn’t even (bleeping) close. It was a shallow fly ball to left field. You would expect the left fielder to throw the baserunner out on that play ...
— Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) June 2, 2024
More from Pham: "The situation of the game, you know, third base coach sends you, you gotta go. I’m nailed out at home .. by a mile. I’m going to the dugout and I hear the tough guy with all the hoo-rah shit ...
— Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) June 2, 2024
More from Pham: "So, 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 (bleep) somebody up. So, you can take it at what it is."
— Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) June 2, 2024
Some might question why Pham got so mad, but seeing other players on the roster show some passion would be nice. At least, Pham has embraced mentoring younger players and that is the final reason to appreciate Tommy Pham.
Pham is also a guy I see talking with players after games about what transpired, younger players picking his brain. He told me he did the same with Matt Holliday when he was a younger player, so it's good to see the same with the White Sox. A great plus for a young team.
— Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) June 2, 2024
Having Pham in the fold during spring training would have been nice. At least he is on the roster now. Imagine if he was on the 2022 team. Hopefully, Pham leaves an impression on the younger players that helps establish a better culture than what we have seen from the White Sox.
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