Tag: tommy-pham

Tommy Pham is Driving My Kids Crazy

I would jump for joy like Tommy Pham if he called New York home. Photo from the Post Register

I have been a big Tommy Pham guy over the last year or so. I wrote an article about him in March, lamenting the fact that he had not found a team so late in Spring Training. I wanted the New York Yankees to sign him and as I sit here it pains me to know that Brian Cashman and company decided on three separate occasions to not pursue the veteran outfielder with a .313 batting average in 120 playoff plate appearances. I’ve spent most of the Summer pleading with Cashman (at least privately) to go after Pham because of his proven clutch performance. I’m sure some of you are tired of my dissertations on this topic.

Oh wait, you don’t live with me.

But my kids do. And I’m pretty sure they have had it with me on this subject.

Pham clutch for the Royals. Photo from my TV

At least Ryan has gone back to school and has received some refuge. However, even he is not safe 140 miles away. See the picture directly above this paragraph? One morning while watching Quick Pitch, I snapped it as a reminder (and to possibly email Brian Cashman) what the Yankees are missing by not signing Tommy Pham. I happened to send this picture to a group chat with my kids and other members of my family. No sooner did I hit the green arrow to grace everyone with my genius, Matthew sent the following reply:

“The moment I saw you take that picture I immediately knew what was happening and my prediction was correct”.

So not only have I become insufferable but I’ve become predictable.

Here it goes, hopefully for the last time.

Pham has been picked up by the Kansas City Royals after starting 2024 with the Chicago White Sox and then dealt to the St. Louis Cardinals. Cashman blew it by not grabbing him when he was available. The Yankees are a championship caliber team. However, they need someone that plays with an edge. This team gives off a no urgency vibe. Pham would change that………..hold on:

Tommy Pham just hit a home run against the Yankees.

I am a freaking genius.

Back to what I was saying. Pham would have been perfect in left field down the stretch. Alex Verdugo has been better lately but I’m sorry, Pham is a much better player with the money on the table. Verdugo would still be a valuable member of the team. He is a good defender with an excellent arm. He could play defense late. But the starter would be Pham.

Now I have to wait until next year to see if the folks running the Yankees smarten up and sign him. I’m not holding my breath. But next year, I won’t be as insistent on him landing in New York.

I promise.

My kids will make sure of that.

Immaculate Grid Superstar: Tommy Pham

In my first two posts about Immaculate Grid go to guys, I selected Paul Lindblad and Joe Morgan, two players who have long since retired. For today’s edition, I think it is about time we choose someone that is still active. There are no shortages of players to choose from, with quite a few having stints with five teams or more. I’d like to start a round of current players with a guy I have grown to admire over the past year, Tommy Pham.

Tommy Pham with his ninth team in 13 years. Photo from the Chicago Sun-Times.

This isn’t the first time I’ve written about Mr. Pham. Nearly three months ago, I wrote that it was nearing late March and he didn’t have a team. It was highly disappointing that Pham was still unemployed despite the fact he could potentially be a missing ingredient for a playoff contender. He eventually signed with the Chicago White Sox, who currently have the worst record in baseball. Chicago represents the eighth stop in Pham’s Major League odyssey and considering the plight of the Sox, team number nine is just around the corner. With a .313 batting average in 31 playoff and World Series games, expect Pham to be playing deep into October once again.

Position players aren’t usually known for bouncing around between that many teams. Relievers are usually the ones who switch teams every two years or so. However, Pham is an exception to this rule and at this time next year, he very well could hit double digit organizations.

Tommy Pham Needs a Team

This past offseason featured much speculating about where the “big” free agents were going to land. For the majority of the time, we kept wondering if and when Blake Snell, Matt Chapman, Jordan Montgomery, Cody Bellinger and Sonny Gray were going to sign with a new team. All but Montgomery have found destinations and with the regular season less than a week away, we are no closer to finding out his new home. The guy I am waiting for to sign and for whom a contending team really could use is Tommy Pham.

A playoff contender needs to sign Tommy Pham. Phot from the Cincinnati Enquirer

Pham could be working on his eighth team in 11 years. There could be a myriad of reasons to this but perhaps two reasons that seems to make the most sense is that he speaks his mind and that he is intense. I’ll venture to say certain organizations are uncomfortable with a player being so open, honest and serious. However, all I know is that the guy is a winning player. Look at the Arizona Diamondbacks from last year. Is there any doubt that Pham made a difference to the D’backs after he arrived from the New York Mets? He brought leadership and intensity to a team in desperate need of both. If you doubt that he is not a good teammate, do you recall Game 2 of the 2023 World Series? Pham went 4 for 4 in that game, yet when he had the opportunity to tie a record with a fifth hit, he gave up that chance in order to have Jace Peterson get a World Series at bat. Former reps from previous organizations, among them Buck Showalter and Francisco Lindor, have praised Pham as a teammate and leader. This was even after Pham called Showalter’s Mets, “the least-hardest working group of position players I’ve ever played with”. These two articles from the Athletic and the St. Louis Post Dispatch are wonderful resources if you would like more reading on what makes Pham tick.

Any team that is in a position to have a playoff year should want Tommy Pham on their team. I want the New York Yankees to sign him. The Yanks could use someone like him to stir things up. Pham has simple requests: play hard and win. That should be the unofficial motto for every Major League team. Unfortunately, not all organizations subscribe to that philosophy. The one that signs Tommy Pham will not regret it.